If you have a Kindle e-reader, you may have heard of the dreaded update that is coming to our devices in a mere matter of days. Essentially, Amazon is taking a pretty important feature away from their Kindle devices on Wednesday, February 26th. The update? They are removing the USB download functionality. 

When I originally heard about this my first thought was frankly, “So what? How does this affect me? I only buy my e-books from Amazon anyways.” But the more I thought about it (and the more research I did on the nature of digital files in general) the more I realized how much this changes digital ownership for Amazon users. Let me explain.

How Do E-Readers Work Anyways?

In general, when you download your owned books over wifi, you technically aren’t buying the book, at least not in the same way you would purchase a physical copy from the bookstore. You are buying access. Your device will download a copy of the PDF so you can access the book when you are offline, yes, but because companies like Amazon want to keep your business, you can only access that copy through dedicated reading software. 

On top of that, many publishers will use what is called a Digital Rights Management (DRM for short) which is meant to protect against making more digital copies of a book to sell elsewhere.

Renting In Place of Ownership Across Modern Media 

This practice is true across media today. You probably stream your movies and TV shows on Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, or some other streaming service. Most people I know use Spotify or Apple Music to stream their music in place of MP3 players (don’t even get me started), so why should books be any different?

Digital media is extremely hard to own these days. Unless you intentionally seek out ways to download the actual files of your media (I do this through HDTracks.com for my music now), you are essentially paying to rent. That’s not a bad thing, but it can be an issue in some cases. More on that later.

Videogames Too! 

Videogames now work similarly. When you buy a video game nowadays, even if you buy the disk, you are only buying the license to play. Back in the day (IDK exactly when, just when I was playing Nancy Drew games on the family desktop), when you bought the CD of a videogame, you would download the actual file onto your computer. 

Now, you have a Steam account that you buy the license through. While you still download the game onto your computer, you can only access that file through your Steam credentials. In fact, if a Steam user dies, no one else can access the games they paid for, because those licenses are exclusive to that user. 

Amazon Removing USB Download Is a Big Deal

Because of how e-readers work, Amazon can update their digital library and remove books you purchased at any time. If they lose the DRM for that media, you will not be able to access it on your device. This happened when Amazon removed George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm from their digital library in 2009. This happened because of copyright issues. 

Until February 26th, 2025, Kindle readers had a workaround, but you had to put on your eye patch to use it. You could download your copy of your books from your Kindle to another device and run it through a DRM remover. In the US, this is not legal under most circumstances. To my understanding, you can do this if you do not distribute the copy, but I have also heard that the act of removing the DRM is considered tampering with the copyright, so I am not advising you to do this.

Without the USB download functionality, digital ownership looks different. You are paying to borrow a piece of media, but there is always a possibility that your copy can be taken away from you at any time. 

Why Is Amazon Taking USB Downloading Away? 

While I have not found a statement from Amazon explaining their reasoning, I think there are a few reasons why they made this decision. 

1. Deterring Digital Pirates

USB downloading is a favorite among digital pirates. Some people will buy a book on their Kindle, download the PDF to their computer, strip the DRM from that copy, and print the PDF so they can bind and sell their own version of that book. The problem with this is a distributing license is very different than the license you buy on your personal Kindle. Amazon may be trying to crack down on this practice with this update. 

I think that is a great goal. Ever since I was a kid and I learned what pirating was, it made me upset on the artist’s behalf. People deserve to be compensated fairly for the creations they are selling in my opinion. It takes a LOT to write a book. From the initial creation to the final edit, an author pours their heart into their work. 

That being said, I don’t think Amazon is thinking about the authors or the readers when they make this decision. Amazon doesn’t have a good reputation for taking care of their authors and publishers according to the Author’s Guild, so why would they start with this update?

2. Locks Their Users Into Their System

The second reason (and I think this was the decision maker for Amazon) is this change effectively locks Kindle users into only buying from Amazon’s store. You cannot access other libraries from a Kindle easily without the USB download function. There are ways to do it, but they are tricky, so it serves as an effective deterrent for using any other e-book seller as a Kindle user. 

Amazon is Playing Monopoly, And it’s Winning

At the end of the day, I see this as the next step in Amazon’s attempted monopoly on the e-book publishing industry. They are controlling the publishing and distribution of a product so consumers have no other choice than to buy from them. 

I know those are strong words, but what other possibility is there? You can buy other brands of e-readers, sure, but we aren’t talking about cheap products here. E-readers are meant to last you for several years at least. 

What happens if you have been a Kindle user for a long time, and you decide to switch to Kobo or another kind of e-reader? How do you transfer your library to your new device? Do you have to start from scratch? That is a lot of investment for a product that you don’t get to own at the end of the day. 

What Should You Do About It?

Truthfully, I don’t know what you should do about this issue, but here is what I plan to do with my Kindle.

I’ve only owned a Kindle for about 7 months now, and I adore it. It was a gift from my mom, and it has been so useful to me. As someone who has horrible eyesight (I’m extremely nearsighted AND I have a lazy eye that gives me double vision if am tired), being able to control the font size and the lighting is so helpful. 

Don’t Trash Useful Devices

I have read more books because of this device. I even love that I can access the news in a controlled environment where scrolling is difficult. It helps me stay informed without wasting hours scrolling on my phone. I don’t want to change devices because of this update. I think it would be wasteful of a good device to do so. But I don’t think I will want to continue using Kindles once this device dies. 

Treat Your E-reader Like a Library Card

To me, the best way you can responsibly use your Kindle is to treat it like your library card. Don’t buy your Kindle books unless you are fully aware you are only paying for the ability to read that book. 

I also will continue to pay for a Kindle Unlimited subscription moving forward. The service has a lot of books I enjoy, so it makes sense for me to continue paying for that service. 

Use Your Local Library Instead

Libraries in the US have a digital database called Libby that you can use if you have a library card. This website is accessible from your Kindle, and as far as I know, you can download Libby books onto your Kindle for free. That is a great cost-effective option for us Americans. 

Libraries are such an important resource for so many Americans, and they offer a lot more than people think. You can check out audiobooks, ebooks, movies, TV shows, and many more pieces of media, all at your local library. I encourage you to look into this resource if you are trying to save on your media consumption. 

Buy The Physical Books (and Media) You Love

As an avid reader, I would love to buy every book I have ever wanted to read, but that is not realistic. For one, I would run out of shelf space so quickly. Maybe one day I can fulfill my Beauty and the Beast personal library aspirations, but for now, I limit my purchases to the books I am confident I will enjoy. If I read a book on my Kindle that I truly love, I will look for a physical copy to keep on my shelf. That way, if Amazon ever removes that book I know I am covered. 

This doesn’t have to break the bank either. My sister for example (hi Katie!) recently came home with her own collection of DVDs and video games that she loves. She found a deal at her local game store. 

Final Thoughts

The world of digital ownership plays by different rules than the physical world. I hate that this is the case, but we cannot change everything we hate. The best we can do is adapt and be vocal about changes like this. Amazon, if you’re listening I don’t like you for many reasons, but this update is at the top of that list now. Treat your people better! 

In the meantime, I’m going to keep buying physical copies of the art I love.