Amazon and DRM changes

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I'm surprised they havent already. I still don't fully understand why only newer books are locked down though. Instead of cutting off the old K4PC entirely.

I think that it was a smart idea from their point of view. It gradually puts increasing pressure to upgrade without preventing those who legitimately cannot from reading their prior purchases.

I think it was a mistake on Amazon’s part to move the date forward for older software versions that had previously been blocked from downloading books published since 2023. Doing that makes it obvious that the limitation was an arbitrary one and not technological. Of course we all knew that anyway.

I also believe that they are making a huge mistake in trying to force lock in to their ecosystem. It generates bad publicity on social media and that is increasingly important these days.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I also believe that they are making a huge mistake in trying to force lock in to their ecosystem. It generates bad publicity on social media and that is increasingly important these days.

Also decreases sales to people using non-Kindle eReaders. If i see Kindle Unlimited on book, I immediately ignore it. I've heard of authors going wide more too.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Also decreases sales to people using non-Kindle eReaders.

Apparently those people are a small minority of the whole Kindle customer base. Or Amazon would have noticed decreasing sales by now.

[DNSB]

From the authors I've chatted with, the argument over whether going wide or sticking with KU is better is still very much ongoing. From one author who went wide, the income from Amazon dropped about 15%-20% and the income from other sites came in at about 20%-35% (including income from Kobo Plus) so a net gain. OTOH, other authors have reported the drop in income from Amazon after going wide is not compensated for by the income from other sites. Plus if you get above a certain point on Amazon, their advertising starts working for you without needing any effort on your part so if you go wide, you end up doing more work on the business side of being an author.

[trishau]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I'm surprised they havent already. I still don't fully understand why only newer books are locked down though. Instead of cutting off the old K4PC entirely.

Got this email a few minutes ago!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Customer,

We are reaching out to ask you to update the Kindle app on your Android device to the latest available version (Android OS v9.0+). Starting May 26, 2025 Kindle for Android app versions released prior to March 2022 (v8.51 or earlier) will no longer support Kindle content downloads. This update will ensure you get the most out of the Kindle experience and that the app operates as intended.
Please follow the steps below to get the latest version of the free Kindle app.

How to Update:
1. Open the Settings app on your device. Scroll down and tap System or About Phone/Tablet (this might vary depending on your device).
2. Tap Software Update or System Updates. Tap Check for Updates. If an update is available, follow the on-screen instructions to download and install it.
3. Once you upgrade your device to Android OS v.9.0+, open the app store on your Android device.
Search for the Kindle app. Tap Update to install the latest version.

If you are unable to update your app, you can continue reading previously downloaded content, as well as continue to use Kindle for Web (https://read.amazon.com.au/), a supported Kindle E-reader, or the free Kindle app on iOS, Mac or PC to download and read Kindle content.

If you have any questions or require assistance, please visit http://www.amazon.com.au/kindlesupport.

Thank you for being a Kindle customer.

Sincerely,

The Kindle Team

[xyzzy_foo]

About ten minutes ago, I received the Japanese version of the same email. All hope will soon be lost. The time has come to say goodbye to Kindle.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by trishau

Got this email a few minutes ago!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Customer,

We are reaching out to ask you to update the Kindle app on your Android device to the latest available version (Android OS v9.0+). Starting May 26, 2025 Kindle for Android app versions released prior to March 2022 (v8.51 or earlier) will no longer support Kindle content downloads. This update will ensure you get the most out of the Kindle experience and that the app operates as intended.
Please follow the steps below to get the latest version of the free Kindle app.

How to Update:
1. Open the Settings app on your device. Scroll down and tap System or About Phone/Tablet (this might vary depending on your device).
2. Tap Software Update or System Updates. Tap Check for Updates. If an update is available, follow the on-screen instructions to download and install it.
3. Once you upgrade your device to Android OS v.9.0+, open the app store on your Android device.
Search for the Kindle app. Tap Update to install the latest version.

If you are unable to update your app, you can continue reading previously downloaded content, as well as continue to use Kindle for Web (https://read.amazon.com.au/), a supported Kindle E-reader, or the free Kindle app on iOS, Mac or PC to download and read Kindle content.

If you have any questions or require assistance, please visit http://www.amazon.com.au/kindlesupport.

Thank you for being a Kindle customer.

Sincerely,

The Kindle Team

Oops, they must've seen our posts and realized they hadn't turned it off.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by jhowell

It is just a matter of time before they come after Kindle for Android and e-ink Kindles.

Originally Posted by trishau

Starting May 26, 2025 Kindle for Android app versions released prior to March 2022 (v8.51 or earlier) will no longer support Kindle content downloads.

Well that didn't take long.

I may be mistaken, but I have seen indications that the same restriction may also be coming to older e-ink Kindle models sometime soon. I sure hope that I am wrong about that.

[ownedbycats]

I wonder what the breaking point will be? I check /r/kindle every so often and still always see half a dozen "first-time Kindle buyer!" post.

I imagine a lot of them don't care about access to books. Streaming services have changed things.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I wonder what the breaking point will be? I check /r/kindle every so often and still always see half a dozen "first-time Kindle buyer!" post.

I imagine a lot of them don't care about access to books. Streaming services have changed things.

This has always been the case. Relatively few people care about DRM removal and managing their own ebooks. Most don't.

[peaceridge]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

This has always been the case. Relatively few people care about DRM removal and managing their own ebooks. Most don't.

The problem for me (as I've probably said before) is that the Kindle reading software is trash and I prefer other reading software. So, with the lockdown on DRM removal, I've moved on to Kobo. (Although I keep an eye on this site just in case).

[JBaby]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I wonder what the breaking point will be? I check /r/kindle every so often and still always see half a dozen "first-time Kindle buyer!" post.

I imagine a lot of them don't care about access to books. Streaming services have changed things.

As head mod of r/Kindle I can tell you there’s been no decrease in the number of new Kindle owner posts. Most people don’t know and those that know mostly don’t care.

I’ve been a member of the sub for 6 years. I’ve been a mod for 4 years and head mod for over 6 months. Throughout all of that time I had been telling people to back up their books and it was like shouting into the void. Even today I have members who don’t understand why the removal of D&T is a huge deal. People only learn after DRM bites them in the ass. We get posts every so often from people who have had their Amazon accounts locked down. Some of them never got their accounts back. The documentation Amazon requested wasn’t good enough. Only one person who didn’t get their account back was ok because they had been backing up of their books all along. The rest lost everything.

[Sirtel]

Given the number of posts about dead computer drives and lost contents thereof I've seen through the years, I'm not surprised. Your average user doesn't back up anything.

[JBaby]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Given the number of posts about dead computer drives and lost contents thereof I've seen through the years, I'm not surprised. Your average user doesn't back up anything.

Facts! macOS even has built in backup software and people don’t use it. That’s literally the bare minimum. I don’t get it. It could never be me. I’m backed up to 3 different places with 1 of them being off-site. File syncing services don’t count unless the backup option is purchased imo.

[innocenat]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But Kobo is not trying to block us from using our eBooks as we see fit.

Not yet. Kobo stopped allowing Japanese users to download .acsm file last year. Who knows what's next.