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Authors and publishers need to opt in to DRM-free files
How to check for DRM-free books
As of Jan. 20, 2026, Amazon is changing its policy on DRM e-books sold in the Kindle store. Now, you could read a book purchased in the Kindle store on a non-Kindle e-reader.
The biggest issue with e-books is the topic of digital rights management. When you purchase a book in the Kindle or Kobo store, these books have some form of digital rights management (DRM) on them, meaning that e-books are encrypted and can only be read on a certain type of e-reader. So when you buy an e-book in the Kindle store, you can only read it on a Kindle. This means that if you switch from a Kindle to a Kobo, you can’t move books you’ve purchased in the Kindle store to your new e-reader.
However, Amazon is making it easier to access DRM-free files. The news arrived on the Kindle Direct Publishing platform, used typically by self-published authors and independent presses. The Digital Rights Management page on Kindle Direct Publishing states that as of Jan. 20, 2026, authors and publishers now have the choice to make files DRM-free.
As noted, the changes will only effect new files, not previously downloaded books.
Credit: Screenshot: Amazon
If authors select DRM files, users can only read Kindle e-books on Kindle devices. If they select DRM-free, the file can be read on Kindle devices, but it can also be downloaded as an EPUB or PDF file, transferred to a non-Kindle device, and read on any kind of e-reader.
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Does this mean that you can now download all of your Kindle books to a different e-reader? Not quite. According to the Kindle Direct Publishing site, the DRM changes only apply to future EPUB/PDF download access and don’t affect files already downloaded.
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Authors and publishers need to opt in to DRM-free files
This change in digital rights management won’t be automatic; a key piece is that authors and publishers must opt in to DRM-free books. So while we’re hopeful that it means a wave of DRM-free books is coming, there’s no guarantee.
How to check for DRM-free books
So how do you check for a DRM-free file? Amazon makes it harder than Kobo, as the latter has a whole page dedicated to DRM-free files. As the change on Amazon is so recent, they’ve yet to signify which books are DRM-free. Currently, the only way to tell is after you download a book.
When a title says ‘Download available in additional formats’, you’ve got a DRM-free book.
Credit: Screenshot: Amazon
When you view a book in your Content Library on Amazon, a book may say ‘Download available in additional formats’. From there, under ‘More Actions’ select ‘Download EPUB/PDF’ to access the DRM-free file. From there, you can download an EPUB/PDF to your computer and transfer it to other devices.
