Here is an archive Verge article confirming this.

I posted about this *here, but there were a lot of questions on the thread and questions in other places. For images, I’m using Imgur in the event I need to reconcile information. Reddit does not allow you to edit image posts.

Mods, let me know if this isn’t appropriate for this sub.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is “Download & Transfer via USB”?

This is a website option to permit users to download their Amazon content library purchases directly to their hard drive. This was originally made when Wi-Fi was not as prevalent. Using this option was a way to keep versions of your purchases in your own storage. This does not mean that the file is deDRM upon download. The file remains DRM locked.

Here is an Imgur link that shows the warning of the removal.

Here is an Imgur link to what the option looks like when you go to use it.

What is DRM?

Digital rights management (DRM) is the use of technology to control and manage access to copyrighted material. Another DRM meaning is taking control of digital content away from the person who possesses it and handing it to a computer program. DRM aims to protect the copyright holder’s rights and prevents content from unauthorized distribution and modification. | 🔗 Fortinet%20is%20the%20use%20of%20technology%20to,whether%20they%20can%20share%20it.)

DRM laws, however, are not universal. Please check the laws in your country for more information.

Has this always been the case? Am I not purchasing my books when I buy them?

This imgur links shows a screenshot of what the Amazon US store has beneath your option to purchase a book: “By placing your order, you’re purchasing a license to the content”. End quote. This is not unique to Amazon. Some websites and streaming services that allow e-purchases will let you know what you purchase is the license to that media, but you do not own that media to distribute, maintain, host, or do as you will with it. Even if the publisher or producer requests that their work be sold without DRM, websites can implement in-house DRM to retain exclusivity to their services.

Note: whether you see this warning or not is dependent upon the nation of your Amazon Store.

I never used this option before. I only downloaded from the Kindle store to my Kindle. What does the removal of this option mean?

The removal means a few things:

• You will be unable to download your Amazon ebooks from the website onto a hard drive in order to preserve them.

• If you currently put your Kindle on Airplane Mode a majority of the time and sideload your Kindle purchases by downloading them first, this option is no longer valid to take.

• You will be “required” to use an Amazon device or application in order to read your books.

Why do people back up their purchases in the first place?

It can be for many reasons. Having a copy of your digital purchases preserves them in the event the website removes or digitally alters the content without warning. This also ensures, if your account was to be suspended under pending an investigation or outright banned, you have your entire library, so at the very least, you can still read what you’ve purchased.

Does this option removal affect all kindles in all countries?

This pertains to the website itself and, yes, this is a universal removal.

Will this affect other methods of Send to Kindle?

No. You can still use other methods to send documents, PDFs, and EPUBs to your Kindle device through email. You can still connect your kindle device to your hard drive for file uploads.

How can I back up my books?

r/Calibre is a great resource itself that walks you through how to back up your books and even has had talented users create scripts for mass downloands in the event you’re like me and have hundreds of bools (I did individual downloads because I’m not tech smart 🥲). I would advise to download Calibre and then play around.

Here is an archive of all calibre plugins.

Here is what my my “download” library looks like. 2, 3, 4, 5.

Some of the plugins I use and would recommend:

• Goodreads

• Goodreads Synch

• Goodreads Meta Scrape

• Fanficfare: Here is what my fanfiction library looks like

• Import List: Imports lists like your GR data or Kindle data

• Search Internet

• Generate Cover

• Find Duplicates

• EpubMerge

• EpubSplit

• Prettify Cover

• Reading List

• Mass Search/Replace

I would advise you to have a library where you keep raw data and always have the raw editions of your downloads untouched and backed up to a hard drive.

This makes me concerned about purchasing from Amazon ever again. Should I cancel my subscription? Should I ditch my kindle?

It’s your choice. I do want to note that, while I do purchase from non-Amazon sites, Amazon—Kindle Publishing (KDP)—locks many authors into exclusive contracts, meaning these authors’ catalog are only available through Amazon and how they receive money from their books is through Amazon. There are many reasons why an author chose KDP and why they’ll continue to do so even in your effort to move away from the AMZ ecosystem. Amazon can be more accessible and affordable for people on an international level as well. But I would advise you run your current kindle to the ground before purchasing another, depending on your financial circumstances.

The best compromise I’ve seen is, before purchasing a book, check to see where else the ebook is sold and do what’s affordable and accessible to you.

But are there any other options to Amazon?

Many. But keep in mind that Amazon is not the only company to have DRM on their books. And while the publisher has the right to not want DRM on their books, some websites implement an in-house DRM regardless. I can’t say much beyond that to abide by sub rules 😅

I shared here and here and here for some non-Amazon options (Abe Books is owned by Amazon BTW):

• Apple Books (this would still contain DRM)

• Rakuten Kobo (Kobo lets you use Adobe Digital Edition DRMs, which come as epubs)

• SmashWords (no DRM)

• itch.io (no DRM but you can tip the author!)

• Humble Bumble (no DRM)

• Eden Books

• TOR publishing (no DRM)

• Libby

  • You can use the Library Extension on Firefox, Chrome, and Edge and link your library systems to find out which library has the book

• Barnes & Noble Nook (DRM)

• BookFunnel (No DRM)

• Authors directly on their website

• Project Gutenberg (public domain)

• Internet Archive

• RoyalRoad (webnovels)

• Tapas (webnovels)

• Google Play Books (DRM)

• ebooks.com

• Bookshops.com (however, there’s some controversy that, while this’ll partner with Kobo eventually, DRM Ebooks from Bookshop.org must be read on either their Apple or Android app, and this is in the US currently, but this thread on r/books talks about it more)

• Harlequin

• DL Site (Japanese media)

• J-Novel Club (Japanese)

• BOOK⭐️WALKER (Japanese)

• BookLive (Japanese)

• Honto (Japanese)

• I’m missing out on multiple retailers for Asian content, but so many of them are largely physical books rather than ebooks 😭

• r/FreeRomanceBooks is also a great place to check out free books that may be available on non-Amazon platforms

• r/MM_RomanceBooks has daily release posts that include Sales & Deals that may be from non-Amazon websites as well as dedicated posts for sales & deals and stuff your ereader days that can have books beyond the Amazon ecosystem

• r/Fantasy is great at calling out humble bumble deals for fantasy books, where they are all ePUBS

r/audiobooks has a great resources for options, including:

• Hoopla

• GraphicAudio

• Kobo Audiobooks

• Libro.fm (DRM-free)

• Google Play Audiobooks

• Humble Bumble

• Internet Archive

• Blogs (some audiodramas/audiobooks are hosted on the actual webnovel page)

• Teen Book Cloud

• Librovox (public domain)

If you don’t backup your purchases or don’t really care that this feature will be defunct, then that’s okay, and this post won’t be for you. And I understand that posts on r/kindle, r/calibre, and other places may have sounded hysterical or panicked. I know a lot of people will discard this as saying that books won’t be removed from Amazon, that this won’t be that big of a deal, that people should’ve known about the stipulations in purchasing digital goods, I understand.

But romance books—media—are affected in this change on an international level. You never know if your account can get banned unfairly, if an author gets banned unfairly, if books will be pulled unfairly or altered.

If preserving and hosting your media isn’t your prerogative, that’s still fine!

Personally, I’ve now downloaded all my purchases and bought quite a few KU-locked and Amazon-only ebooks that I’ve constantly reread or want to reread. And I’m surprised at how many books I’ve bought over the years. I have a problem 😭

Hope this helps people!