Amazon Kindle eBooks now (partially) DRM-free

Amazon will offer selected Kindle eBooks without copy protection in the future. (Image source: Perfecto Capucine)

Amazon is opening up the Kindle ecosystem a little, as many Kindle eBooks can now be downloaded without copy protection, even if they were originally purchased with DRM. However, it is up to individual publishers to decide whether certain books will be free of copy protection or not.

Hannes Brecher (translated by Jacob Fisher), Published 01/22/2026 🇩🇪

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In December, Amazon informed publishers that they would be able to offer Kindle eBooks without copy protection from January 20, 2026. For users, this means that selected eBooks can now be downloaded not only to Kindle e-readers and devices with the Kindle app, but also as DRM-free PDF or ePub files.

To download an eBook, select it under "Digital Content" in your Amazon account. If a DRM-free version is available, the "Download EPUB/PDF" option will appear under "More Actions". This allows the book to be read on eReaders without the Kindle app. Selling without DRM also means that books can theoretically be shared with friends, which is why Amazon is giving publishers the option of offering their books with or without DRM.

For books published before December 9, 2025, publishers must manually convert them to the DRM-free format. For new releases, Amazon offers an optional automatic conversion. As Good E-Reader notes, most major publishers have so far refrained from offering their books without copy protection in the Kindle Store. We were able to identify books from publishers such as Drachenmond, Hidden Gnome Publishing and Fabylon, who now allow DRM-free downloads from Amazon. However, there currently appears to be no way to see whether a book is available DRM-free before purchasing it.

Amazon now allows DRM-free downloads of selected books as PDF or ePub files.

Source(s)

Good E-Reader | Perfecto Capucine (teaser image)

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Editor of the original article: Hannes Brecher - Senior Tech Writer - 19713 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2018

Since 2009 I have written for different publications with a focus on consumer electronics. I joined the Notebookcheck news team in 2018 and have combined my many years of experience with laptops and smartphones with my lifelong passion for technology to create informative content for our readers about new developments in this sphere. In addition, my design background as an art director at an ad agency has allowed me to have deeper insights into the peculiarities of this industry.

contact me via: @HannesBrecher, LinkedIn, Xing

Translator: Jacob Fisher - Translator - 2727 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022

Growing up in regional Australia, I first became acquainted with computers in my early teens after a broken leg from a football (soccer) match temporarily condemned me to a predominately indoor lifestyle. Soon afterwards I was building my own systems. Now I live in Germany, having moved here in 2014, where I study philosophy and anthropology. I am particularly fascinated by how computer technology has fundamentally and dramatically reshaped human culture, and how it continues to do so.

> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2026 01 > Amazon Kindle eBooks now (partially) DRM-free

Hannes Brecher, 2026-01-22 (Update: 2026-01-22)

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