Amazon won’t support Kindle book downloads anymore, according to a recent article in The Verge.
Kindle users can currently download their libraries directly onto their desktop and laptop computers. Amazon will remove the feature on Feb. 26
A popular Reddit post asks if this new development is leading to less control over our media. Perhaps it even supports the outright ban of certain books.
As of this writing, the post, made Feb. 16 in r/books by Redditor EchoesInTheAbyss, has over 27,000 votes. It has over 3,000 comments.
What feature is Amazon removing?
Echoes quotes the original article by The Verge in their post. “Starting on February 26th, 2025, Amazon is removing a feature from its website allowing you to download purchased books to a computer.”
Essentially, the feature allows you to download an ebook from Amazon and then transfer it manually to your Kindle via USB cable. But manual Kindle book downloads appear to be a thing of the past.
The feature was necessary when a significant portion of users had no access to Wi-Fi.
However, some users appreciate the utility of having a backup copy of their books downloaded directly to their computer.
According to The Verge, “The feature is also the easiest way to convert books purchased from Amazon to other formats like EPUB that can be used on alternative devices.”
Can Amazon remove my books?
The Verge notes that Amazon has changed content or even outright removed some books from users’ Kindles in the past.
In 2009, 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell were removed from the devices in the past due to rights agreements that had been violated.
Good e-Reader also reports that several of Roald Dahl’s works have been replaced “with updated copies featuring modified language on various ebook platforms. “
“Amazon says they can remove books from a device at any time, for any reason,” the outlet continues.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Amazon via email for a statement.
Is this the future of book banning?
In their Reddit post, EchoesInTheAbyss isn’t only concerned about Amazon’s removal of the download feature.
While responding to suggestions that they utilize libraries to read ebooks, they discuss the rising prevalence of book banning. They quote an article by Library Research Service.org.
“A recent ALA press release revealed that the number of reported challenges to books and materials in 2022 was almost twice as high as 2021. ALA documented 1,269 challenges in 2022, which is a 74% increase in challenges from 2021 when 729 challenges were reported.“
A more recent article by PBS states:
“Between January 1 and August 31, 2024, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 414 attempts to censor library materials and services. In those cases, 1,128 unique titles were challenged. In the same reporting period last year, ALA tracked 695 attempts with 1,915 unique titles challenged.”
They do not state explicitly that Amazon or other reader markets would serve to ban books outright as an extension of a government. Public libraries are government institutions.
As such, they adhere to community standards and can be influenced and challenged by local government.
What other Redditors had to say
Redditor kcl97 writes in the comments that Kindle users “could lose them entirely if they’re banned and removed. Or surreptitiously overwritten. Just like in Animal Farm.”
Another wrote, “Another reason I like physical books. They can come and try to wrestle them from my grip.”
However, yet another Redditor noted, “I have around 3,000 digital books between audible and Kindle. I would not want to move that many physical books. And have no idea where I would put them all.”
“I know this is sort of unrelated but it feels like most everything is just slowly getting worse in terms of services and our society,” someone else noted.
The Daily Dot has reached out to EchoesInTheAbyss via Reddit for further comment.
Amazon removing the ability to download your purchased books
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