TL;DR
- Amazon will allow EPUB and PDF downloads for DRM-free Kindle books starting January 20, 2026.
- The change follows Amazon’s removal of the long-standing USB download option in 2025.
- Only titles where the publisher opts out of DRM will qualify, so most Kindle books still won’t be downloadable.
Amazon is bringing back something Kindle fans didn’t expect to see again: direct downloads. Starting January 20, 2026, anyone who buys a qualifying DRM-free title will be able to download an EPUB or PDF version from their Amazon account.
The change was quietly announced in Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing documentation, and it marks the first time in years that the company has offered a sanctioned path to download Kindle content outside its walled garden. It’s also a sharp contrast to Amazon’s decision in early 2025 to remove the long-standing Download & Transfer via USB option, a shift that did not go over well with the brand’s power users.