Amazon Kindle removes download feature of purchased books: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Fyi-amazon-is-removing-download-transfer-option-on-feb-26th-v0-s7wd6fm1rqie1.webp|alt=Amazon notice about removing download capability|thumb|Amazon notice about removing download capability <ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/kindle/comments/1inr9uy/fyi_amazon_is_removing_download_transfer_option/|title=FYI Amazon is removing Download & Transfer option on Feb 26th|format=forum thread|publisher=Reddit|language=en|date=12 Feb 2025}}</ref>]] | [[File:Fyi-amazon-is-removing-download-transfer-option-on-feb-26th-v0-s7wd6fm1rqie1.webp|alt=Amazon notice about removing download capability|thumb|Amazon notice about removing download capability.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/kindle/comments/1inr9uy/fyi_amazon_is_removing_download_transfer_option/|title=FYI Amazon is removing Download & Transfer option on Feb 26th|format=forum thread|publisher=Reddit|language=en|date=12 Feb 2025}}</ref>]] | ||
On February 26th 2025, [[Amazon]] removed the "download and transfer via USB" feature from their website. This means [[Amazon Kindle]] users are no longer able to download their purchased e-books from Amazon's website to their computers using the "download and transfer via USB" feature. A message describing this change appeared on the page for the download feature a few weeks before the feature was removed.<ref name="theverge">{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/news/612898/amazon-removing-kindle-book-download-transfer-usb|title=Amazon’s killing a feature that let you download and backup Kindle books|publisher=The Verge|date=14 Feb 2025|format=article|author=Andrew Liszewski|language=en}}</ref> | |||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
Amazon allows purchasing e-books on their platform. These e-books are designed to be used with Amazon Kindle devices and the Kindle app. The "download and transfer via USB" feature | Amazon allows purchasing e-books on their platform. These e-books are designed to be used with Amazon Kindle devices and the Kindle app. The "download and transfer via USB" feature allowed users to download purchased e-books on their computers. The intended use for this was to allow people to transfer e-books from their computer to their Kindle, without requiring the Kindle to have an internet connection. The "download and transfer via USB" feature was available since the early days of Kindle, when many devices didn't have Wi-Fi capabilities, such as the Kindle 1, Kindle 2, and Kindle DX.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Amazon_Kindle_1|publisher=MobileRead Wiki|title=Amazon Kindle 1|language=en|format=wiki page|date=21 Nov 2011}} | ||
</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Amazon_Kindle_2|title=Amazon Kindle 2|publisher=MobileRead Wiki|language=en|format=wiki page|date=21 Nov 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kindle_DX|date=15 Apr 2014|title=Kindle DX|format=wiki page|publisher=MobileRead Wiki|language=en}}</ref> | </ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Amazon_Kindle_2|title=Amazon Kindle 2|publisher=MobileRead Wiki|language=en|format=wiki page|date=21 Nov 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kindle_DX|date=15 Apr 2014|title=Kindle DX|format=wiki page|publisher=MobileRead Wiki|language=en}}</ref> | ||
===Reasons | ===Reasons For Feature=== | ||
* | *Allowed users to transfer books to Kindles without an internet connection. Older devices may no longer be able to connect | ||
* | *Let users create backup copies of their purchased e-book library | ||
* | *Provided a way to access books in the older AZW3 format, which is more amenable to format conversion than newer formats due to less restrictive DRM | ||
* | *Gave users more control over their purchased content | ||
===DRM implications=== | ===DRM implications=== | ||
As well as the intended usage, customers | As well as the intended usage, customers used this feature to create backups of their Kindle libraries and to convert the e-books to other formats to use with non-Kindle devices. Amazon Kindle e-readers use a proprietary format to store e-books, and a lot of the e-books contain [[Digital rights management|DRM]], which needs to be removed to use the e-books with non-Kindle devices. Newer Kindle devices use the KFX format, which makes it almost impossible to remove DRM. Since the download and transfer feature used the older AZW3 format, people with newer Kindles could use this feature to download their e-books in a format where the DRM can be removed.<ref name="theverge" /> | ||
==Removal of download and transfer via USB== | ==Removal of download and transfer via USB== | ||
In February 2025, Amazon added a notice next to the download button whenever | In February 2025, Amazon added a notice next to the download button whenever users accessed the "download and transfer via USB" feature. This notice said that the feature would be removed on February 26th. After that day, customers were no longer able to download their purchased e-books from the Amazon website. | ||
Customers | Customers are still be able to download e-books to their Kindles, but have to either use the Kindle store on the device or use the "Deliver or Remove from Device" option on the Amazon website.<ref name="theverge" /> Both of these options require the e-reader to have an internet connection. | ||
This isn't the first time Amazon has made changes affecting customers' access to their purchased e-books. For instance, Amazon previously removed books customers had purchased since the company that uploaded them didn't have the rights to the content.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://goodereader.com/blog/kindle/amazon-is-not-to-be-trusted-anymore-with-their-kindle-e-reader|title=Amazon is not to be trusted anymore with their Kindle e-reader|date=14 Feb 2025|publisher=Good e-Reader|format=article|language=en|author=Michael Kozlowski}}</ref> | This isn't the first time Amazon has made changes affecting customers' access to their purchased e-books. For instance, Amazon previously removed books customers had purchased since the company that uploaded them didn't have the rights to the content.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://goodereader.com/blog/kindle/amazon-is-not-to-be-trusted-anymore-with-their-kindle-e-reader|title=Amazon is not to be trusted anymore with their Kindle e-reader|date=14 Feb 2025|publisher=Good e-Reader|format=article|language=en|author=Michael Kozlowski}}</ref> | ||
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*The change makes it much harder for customers to read e-books they have purchased on non-Kindle devices | *The change makes it much harder for customers to read e-books they have purchased on non-Kindle devices | ||
*Customers are now required to connect their Kindle e-readers to the internet if they want to download books purchased on Amazon | *Customers are now required to connect their Kindle e-readers to the internet if they want to download books purchased on Amazon | ||
*The change makes it harder for customers to move away from Amazon to another e-book platform, since customers | *The change makes it harder for customers to move away from Amazon to another e-book platform, since customers are not able to keep the e-books they purchased through Amazon | ||
After the announcement, many consumers | After the announcement, many consumers downloaded their purchased e-books with the download and transfer feature while the feature was available. Many people have also moved to other providers to buy e-books going forward. | ||
Other users | Other users resorted to jailbreaking their devices to ensure continued access to previous features. This can be done using tools such as [https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/WinterBreak/ WinterBreak], which allow users to run custom applications like [https://github.com/koreader/koreader/wiki/Installation-on-Kindle-devices KOReader], a unified eBook reader that supports PDF, DjVu, EPUB, FB2, and many other formats—on Cervantes, Kindle, Kobo, PocketBook, and Android devices. | ||
==Effect on Original Kindle Devices (Kindle 1, Kindle 2, & Kindle DX)== | ==Effect on Original Kindle Devices (Kindle 1, Kindle 2, & Kindle DX)== | ||
The Amazon Kindle 1 (2007), Kindle 2 (2009), and Kindle DX (2009) relied on EVDO and 3G networks for wireless book downloads via Amazon’s Whispernet service.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> However, with the global shutdown of these older networks by mobile carriers, these early Kindle models are no longer able to download purchased Kindle books wirelessly in most regions. | The Amazon Kindle 1 (2007), Kindle 2 (2009), and Kindle DX (2009) relied on EVDO and 3G networks for wireless book downloads via Amazon’s Whispernet service.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> However, with the global shutdown of these older networks by mobile carriers, these early Kindle models are no longer able to download purchased Kindle books wirelessly in most regions. | ||
Since eBooks can no longer be purchased from the Kindle Store and downloaded, there is no way to get them onto these devices. | |||
*Users | *Users are no longer be able to download Kindle books to a computer for manual transfer to their device via USB. | ||
*Kindle books | *Kindle books that were downloaded before this date can still be transferred manually. | ||
*Any new purchases will require a WiFi-enabled Kindle, a 4G-enabled Kindle or access to Amazon’s Kindle apps to read. | *Any new purchases will require a WiFi-enabled Kindle, a 4G-enabled Kindle or access to Amazon’s Kindle apps to read. | ||
*This effectively bricks older Kindles for the use case of reading newly purchased Kindle books | *This effectively bricks older Kindles for the use case of reading newly purchased Kindle books | ||
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“He never, for example, had any truck with librarians who criticised his books as too frightening, lacking moral role models, negative in their portrayal of women, etc,” he continues. “Dahl wrote stories intended to kindle in children a lifelong love of reading and to remind them of the childhood wonderlands of magic and enchantment, aims in which he succeeded triumphantly. Adult anxieties about political niceties didn’t register in this outlook. This said, although Dahl could be unabashed in offending adults, he took pains never to alienate or make unhappy his child readers.” <ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/17/roald-dahl-books-rewritten-offensive-matilda-witches-twits/|publisher=The Telegraph|title=Roald Dahl rewritten|date=24 Feb 2023|format=article|author1=Ed Cumming|author2=Abigail Buchanan|author3=Genevieve Holl-Allen|language=en}}</ref></blockquote> | “He never, for example, had any truck with librarians who criticised his books as too frightening, lacking moral role models, negative in their portrayal of women, etc,” he continues. “Dahl wrote stories intended to kindle in children a lifelong love of reading and to remind them of the childhood wonderlands of magic and enchantment, aims in which he succeeded triumphantly. Adult anxieties about political niceties didn’t register in this outlook. This said, although Dahl could be unabashed in offending adults, he took pains never to alienate or make unhappy his child readers.” <ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/17/roald-dahl-books-rewritten-offensive-matilda-witches-twits/|publisher=The Telegraph|title=Roald Dahl rewritten|date=24 Feb 2023|format=article|author1=Ed Cumming|author2=Abigail Buchanan|author3=Genevieve Holl-Allen|language=en}}</ref></blockquote> | ||
Spelling out what Dahl said above: "I don't give a bugger" <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/footlights/docs/depaul_-_the_witches|title=The Witches|publisher=The Theatre School at DePaul University (2011)|author=Roald Dahl|date=1983}}</ref> | Spelling out what Dahl said above: "I don't give a bugger"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/footlights/docs/depaul_-_the_witches|title=The Witches|publisher=The Theatre School at DePaul University (2011)|author=Roald Dahl|date=1983}}</ref> | ||
===Roald Dahl book edits=== | ===Roald Dahl book edits=== | ||
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==USB Restrictions== | ==USB Restrictions== | ||
In 2023, Amazon changed how their Kindle devices interact with computers from a raw view of a file system using UMS ([[wikipedia:USB_mass_storage_device_class|USB Mass Storage]]) to a filtered view using the MTP ([[wikipedia:Media_Transfer_Protocol|Media Transfer Protocol]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4352640|publisher=MobileRead Forums|format=forum thread|date=31 Aug 2023|language=en|title=Kindle Scribe no longer connects as USB drive}}</ref> | In 2023, Amazon changed how their Kindle devices interact with computers from a raw view of a file system using UMS ([[wikipedia:USB_mass_storage_device_class|USB Mass Storage]]) to a filtered view using the MTP ([[wikipedia:Media_Transfer_Protocol|Media Transfer Protocol]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4352640|publisher=MobileRead Forums|format=forum thread|date=31 Aug 2023|language=en|title=Kindle Scribe no longer connects as USB drive}}</ref> | ||
MTP requires support on the operating system. | MTP requires support on the operating system. Amazon had to provide macOS software to communicate with Kindles,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=364580|title=Amazon releases MTP USB File Manager for macOS|format=forum thread|publisher=MobileRead Forums|date=13 Nov 2024|language=en}}</ref> and even Windows users had some issues. This change made download and transfer more complex for newer devices. | ||
This change means that all files transferred to the device will have to pass through a software filter running on the device before being accepted. Currently, this filtering is ineffective as demonstrated by WinterBreak which uses the exposed HTML cache. Future software revisions can and will add restrictions, especially to "improve security." | This change means that all files transferred to the device will have to pass through a software filter running on the device before being accepted. Currently, this filtering is ineffective as demonstrated by WinterBreak which uses the exposed HTML cache. Future software revisions can and will add restrictions, especially to "improve security." | ||
Amazon has been pushing for content to go through Send-To-Kindle<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/sendtokindle|publisher=Amazon|title=Send to Kindle page}}</ref>instead of USB. | Amazon has been pushing for content to go through Send-To-Kindle<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/sendtokindle|publisher=Amazon|title=Send to Kindle page}}</ref> instead of USB. This allows Amazon to restrict the usage of Kindle devices to display illicit content. | ||
==Issue Summary== | ==Issue Summary== | ||
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*Ability of publishers to modify purchased content without user consent. | *Ability of publishers to modify purchased content without user consent. | ||
*Ability of publishers to remove purchased content without user consent | *Ability of publishers to remove purchased content without user consent | ||
*E-book platforms can be used to retroactively alter literary works, erasing | *E-book platforms can be used to retroactively alter literary works, erasing historical context and the artist's original intent. | ||
*Ability of content providers to disable perfectly functioning devices from being usable post-sale. | *Ability of content providers to disable perfectly functioning devices from being usable post-sale. | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
[[Category:Amazon Kindle]] | |||
[[Category:Content modification]] | |||
[[Category:Digital rights management]] | [[Category:Digital rights management]] | ||
[[Category:Retroactively amended purchase]] | [[Category:Retroactively amended purchase]] | ||
[[Category:Articles based on videos]] | [[Category:Articles based on videos]] | ||