What you need to know
- Amazon appears to be removing the ability to download and back up Kindle books to PCs starting February 26.
- Users can still send downloaded books to Kindle devices via Wi-Fi using the “Deliver or Remove from Device” option.
- The removal is likely to prevent users from removing DRM and converting books to other formats, potentially to use on other devices.
Amazon has started suggesting that it is removing the ability to download and back up Kindle books to its PCs.
The feature widely dubbed “Download & Transfer via USB” will be removed starting February 26 (via Android Police). Amazon has started showing pop-up messages to many Kindle users on the web. Until then, the ability to download books on a PC and transfer them to Kindle devices via USB transfer should work flawlessly for consumers.
Amazon notes that users would still be able to send downloaded Kindle books to their respective devices, provided they have Wi-Fi-enabled ones and by “selecting the ‘Deliver or Remove from Device’ option.”
The company; however, doesn’t mention why it is removing the feature but as How-to Geek points out, it appears it is to lock consumers in the Kindle ecosystem of devices and not allow side loading of books.
The popular “Download & Transfer via USB” feature is believed to be often used for downloading older purchased books removing their DRM (Digital Rights Management), and converting them to a more universal ePUB format so that they can be imported to other rival book apps similar to Kindle.
The initial purpose of the feature was to import purchased books to Kindle devices that didn’t feature Wi-Fi connectivity and relied on cellular — but that applied to devices released before 2011.
The new move; however, would likely save from making pirated copies of the books, which seems hassle-free to an extent with the aforementioned functionality. Regardless, it appears to be an encouraging move from Amazon to keep its users glued to its devices’ ecosystem.
FYI Amazon is removing Download & Transfer option on Feb 26th from r/kindle
According to a recent Reddit post, users who bought the books through the Kindle store and downloaded them to their Kindle device through Wi-Fi or a cellular network are not affected by the removal of this tool. Similarly, users who have side-loaded books through USB are not affected. Kindle app users on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android are also not affected.