Amazon DRM & Kindle publishing is penalizing authors

How Amazon DRM & Kindle Direct Publishing exclusivity policies are hurting indie authors

Amazon has been removing independent authors’ books from its platform and KDP Select program.  The reason?  A breach of its exclusivity terms caused by distribution on ebook piracy sites despite publishers using Kindle DRM.

  Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Select – rules & piracy

Amazon KDP Select is a program through which authors can earn higher royalties (up to 70%) on their ebook sales, should they agree to self-publish them exclusively through Amazon and make their work available to Amazon Prime at no extra cost via the Kindle Unlimited program.  Amazon reserves the right to remove an ebook if it appears to be available for sale or for free on another platform.

Several authors, including Raven Kennedy, Carissa Broadbent, Nancy O’Toole, and Ruby Dixon, have run afoul of this rule due to piracy and had their books removed from the platform.  Some with a five-day warning, and some with no warning at all.  Despite in some cases providing screenshots, metadata logs, and copyright certificates, during the warning period, the books were still removed.

This, it seems, isn’t a one-off occurrence for some authors, but a repeated stressor that frequently rears its head.  This is despite spending a significant portion of their revenue paying companies to file DMCA takedowns on their behalf.

Piracy is something that ebook authors have always had to contend with, but now the fight appears to have opened a new front.  The real kicker in this situation, however, is the fact that Amazon is effectively punishing authors for its own ineffective DRM protection and policies. We’ll be covering the situation in detail in this blog, including:

1. What Kindle DRM is
2. Whether you should enable it on your ebook
3. What protection it provides against piracy
4. Whether KDP’s issues are down to policy or an overzealous bot
5. How Amazon’s exclusivity and monopoly hurts authors
6. The disadvantages of KDP
7. The benefits of selling ebooks on your own website

  Amazon Publishing and Kindle DRM

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing allows authors to self-publish and upload ebooks to its platform in its own KPF format, PDF, DOC/DOCX, and EPUB. As of March 2025, it no longer accepts MOBI files for fixed-layout eBooks – only reflowable ones.  Regardless of which ebook format you upload, ebooks are converted to AZW3 or KFX. You can’t upload an ebook with pre-applied DRM because this will interfere with the conversion process. Once uploaded, authors’ only option is therefore Amazon’s first-party Kindle DRM.

Note: while this article only covers Amazon DRM for Kindle, the same is true if you want to sell your Audiobooks on Audible.  The caveat, however, is that you have to enable Amazon’s Digital Rights Management before you can sell them.

  What is Kindle DRM?

Amazon’s DRM for Kindle applies Digital Rights Management controls to ebooks to prevent unauthorized sharing and copying.  E-books can only be opened using Amazon’s hardware (Kindle device) or software app.

It prevents users from:

• opening an ebook unless they are authorized to do so (i.e. have purchased them)
• editing ebooks
• using copy and paste
• printing

Users can also lend their DRM protected ebooks to others for a short period of time before they expire and are no longer accessible.

  Should I enable DRM on my indie Kindle book?

When you self-publish with Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), it asks if you want to enable Kindle DRM or not. By default, it is set to on.

Enabling DRM will make little difference as to whether pirates share your ebooks.  The protection is easy to remove, and one might even argue that DMCA protection is more effective when self-publishing. You should only enable it if you want to make it slightly more effort for users to share with friends and family members (outside of Kindle’s household feature).

  Kindle DRM provides no protection against piracy

To put it bluntly, Kindle DRM is useless. It was cracked way back in 2009 by a reverse engineer who goes by the handle I 💗Cabbages.  Amazon has made little effort to address this, considering that for years, removing DRM from a Kindle file only requires opening it in Epubor or adding it to your Calibre library and pressing ‘Convert’.  Users can also install a Calibre DRM removal plugin, which automatically removes Amazon DRM when they upload ebooks to the Kindle desktop app, Amazon site, or Kindle device.

Ultimately, in its push for dominance over the ebook market, Amazon has strong-armed ebook authors into using its DRM and then punished them for its own failure to protect them from piracy.  Its DRM is only good for one thing: forcing genuine readers to consume its books on Kindle.

How to check if an ebook has Kindle DRM

If you’re unsure if your ebook is using Kindle DRM, there are several telltale signs:

1. Check the retailer and product description: If the ebook is from Amazon, there’s a high chance it has Kindle DRM enabled. There’s no surefire way to tell if a book has DRM from its product description, but books that don’t have DRM often list the number of simultaneous devices as “Unlimited”.
2. Check the file format: If your ebook is in the .kfx format, it almost certainly has DRM.
3. Try opening the ebook in Calibre or another ebook reader. If it opens normally, without you needing to sign in, it’s DRM-free. If not, it either has DRM or is in a format your reader doesn’t support.
4. Think about the service you got it from. If it’s a library loan or part of Kindle Unlimited/Prime Reading, then there’s a high likelihood it has DRM.

   How to remove DRM from Kindle books

Kindle DRM removal software, such as Calibre and Epubor remove DRM from Kindle books (both AZW and KFX files) and lets you convert to different file formats using your PC.

Removing Kindle DRM with Epubor

Using Epubor to strip the DRM from Kindle books is simpler than Calibre, but the downside is that it’s not free.

1. Download and install Epubor Ultimate or Kindle Converter for Windows or Mac. Altenratively, install Calibre with the DeDRM and KFX Input plugins.
2. Use Kindle desktop Kindle 2.4.0 or lower to sync your DRM-protected books and download them to your computer.  By default, they will be downloaded to the folder C:\Users\Username\Documents\My Kindle Content unless you change it.
3. Select the ‘Kindle’ tab to load your downloaded Kindle books, and drag them to the right to remove the DRM.
   
4. In the Convert to pull-down field, select the PDF option to convert them to unprotected PDF files.

Removing Kindle DRM with Calibre

Ebooks published before April 23, 2025, can still be removed using Calibre and De-DRM. Like Epubor, however, you will first need to send and sync the book to a Kindle for PC app that is version 2.4.0 or lower.

1. Download and install Calibre and its DeDRM tools plugin.
   
2. Drag and drop your book from “Documents/My Kindle Content” to your Calibre library.
   
3. Select the book and press “Convert books”, then “OK”. Calibre will output the unprotected ebook to the original folder.
   

   What does Kindle’s download ban mean for DRM removal?

From February 26, 2025, Amazon Kindle users can no longer download their ebooks from the Amazon website using the “Download & transfer via USB” feature. Various media outlets have touted this as a way to prevent users from easily removing DRM from their books.

In reality, this is more of the same behavior from Amazon – it only serves to further lock users into the Kindle ecosystem. At the time of writing, the simple method outlined above still works. Rather than using the Download & transfer feature, users can install an older version of the Kindle app and sync ebooks in AZW format directly to their PC. Then it’s just a matter of importing those files into the DRM removal application of choice.

In fact, this change is likely to harm authors more. In response to the impending change, many users have stated on social media that they plan to download all of their books and strip the DRM from them so that they can still use them with their non-Kindle devices. This is likely to lead to hundreds of previously unavailable ebooks being uploaded to piracy sites and more popularity for DRM removal tools.

  Kindle Direct Publishing – real policy, or overzealous bot?

One big question in this affair is whether this is the result of a new interpretation of Amazon’s KDP Select policy that it is choosing to enforce, or the result of an over-zealous web scraping bot.  Ultimately, we can only speculate, but there are a few factors that line up to suggest that it’s more likely to be the latter.

Firstly, all three authors mentioned (at least for now) appear to have had their books reinstated on the Kindle store.  This, and similar instances in the past, suggest that after a manual review of the evidence, an Amazon employee found that the distribution on ebook piracy sites did not violate the company’s exclusivity clause.

Additionally, there is speculation that Amazon has more widely adopted an aggressive new web scraping bot designed for serial fiction Kindle Vella program, where all books are vetted for originality on submission.

This, however, still paints a concerning picture.  One where Amazon is consistently acting on the information provided by its automated tools without human review or contact with the author.  One where Amazon’s support for authors, available only via email, is so poor that authors have to turn to social media to get their cases seen to.  And that highlights the core of the issue: monopoly and exclusivity.

  Exclusivity and monopoly hurts authors

Amazon book publishing dominates the ebook market.  It sells over 487 million ebooks through Kindle every year and has 83% of the market share.  In the UK, it’s estimated to control almost 90% of yearly ebook sales.  This near-monopoly has allowed Amazon to negatively impact market conditions in the digital publishing space in the same way that it has in the retail industry as a whole.

This includes schemes such as KDP Select, where authors must agree to exclusivity to get a reasonable revenue share.  But it also extends to the audiobook market, where publishers must allow Amazon to lock their audiobooks to Audible, indie authors suffer from unconscionable pay rates, and AI is transcribing audiobooks into traditional formats without publishers’ permission.

The bottom line is that agreeing to platform exclusivity leaves authors and their livelihoods vulnerable to the whims of the retailer. In October 2025, for example, Amazon changed its ranking algorithms to update more frequently and prioritize ranking books based on organic interest outside of its ecosystem. A welcome and perhaps well-meaning change for users, but one that could make it more difficult for indie authors to get seen. Even seemingly minor changes such as this can tank authors’ income overnight, leaving little them with little option other than to leave the KDP Select program when their 90-day period expires.

Thankfully, while it can feel like Amazon is the only option for ebook distribution, it’s entirely possible to build a living outside of the Kindle ecosystem.

  KDP Select and library ebook distribution

In October 2025, Amazon quietly changed three words in its KDP Select terms of service that have a major impact on Kindle Select’s exclusivity. Previously, authors who signed up for KDP Select were subject to the following limitation if they wanted to remain enrolled.

“…the Kindle eBook can only be distributed through KDP.”

Now, authors may distribute their ebook “through KDP and public libraries”. This is a welcome change, since libraries offer authors an additional revenue stream while allowing them to reach new audiences and build credibility. Crucially, this also allows authors to test how their book would perform outside of Kindle’s walled garden. This wasn’t previously possible without unenrolling in KDP Select and taking a huge cut in royalties. Naturally, this change doesn’t go as far as most authors would like — they would prefer acceptable royalties without any exclusivity — but it’s still a welcome change.

  Kindle publishing DRM or not?

  Authors don’t need Amazon for their indie books

Being an independent author is all about controlling your creative process and where your work is published.  While indie authors are more than welcome to self-publish on Amazon (and can have great success doing so), it’s best to consider the drawbacks and alternatives fully.  Amazon’s Kindle Direct publishing and ebook distribution platform:

• Takes a large cut of the revenue.  The standard rate an author receives is 35%, minus conversion and delivery fees.
  
• Grants authors 70% of the revenue if they are enrolled in KDP Select and the customer is in the UK, Canada, US, Germany, India, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, Mexico, or Australia.  However, in return, they must:
  • Agree to the exclusivity of digital copies for their enrollment period
  • Allow your book to be available to Kindle Unlimited subscribers at no extra cost
  • Agree to Amazon’s content guidelines, which includes not publishing “material [Amazon] deem inappropriate or offensive”
  • Distribute their book to customers exclusively in the AZW3 or KFX format
  • Lose the chance to be on the NYT bestseller list (they require the author to not be exclusive to Amazon)
  • Agree that Amazon can change its rules at any point, including its rules surrounding exclusivity
  • Price their book between $2.99 and $9.99
  • Cancel KDP Select within a three-day period which occurs every 90 days, unless they want to be re-enrolled
• Publishes 3,835 books through Kindle Direct per day, making your chances of being organically discovered or selected by the marketplace algorithm small
• Offers poor support for authors
• Only allows authors to use its ineffective DRM or publish DRM-free
• Must wait 60 days after earning their money before they can withdraw it

Selling ebooks on Amazon comes with advantages and disadvantages.  Amazon provides ease of use and is very accessible, while granting a much higher percentage of the sale than a traditional publisher.  Unlike a traditional publisher, however, you will have to self-publish and market yourself – and that can be difficult if Amazon is taking a large percentage of every sale and you are losing additional revenue to piracy.  This leads us to the main alternative.

  Self publishing & selling ebooks on your own website or marketplace

As we have established, if you self-publish on Amazon Kindle, you will have to build a fanbase and market yourself.  However, once you have established a following, there is nothing to stop you from publishing and selling ebooks on your own website, a social media platform, or other marketplace (Etsy, Gumroad, etc.).  There are many advantages to doing so:

1. You get 100% of the revenue share from each purchase.
2. Your livelihood is not dependent on the whims of any one company.  You remain in full control of where your book is listed, how it is distributed, the price it is available at, and the formats it is published in.
3. You get paid as soon as you make a sale and are not locked into any exclusivity contracts.
4. You can use any DRM you like, enabling you to prevent piracy, theft, and adaptation of your work.

Though going it alone can sound intimidating, various solutions make selling ebooks online almost as approachable for authors and customers as publishing on Amazon.  Squarespace makes it simple for anybody to set up a retail site, or you can sell directly on Facebook or Instagram, where your audience is (Facebook only charges a 5% fee per sale).

  How Locklizard DRM can help protect ebooks from sharing

Locklizard enables you to easily sell ebooks from your own website while protecting them from being shared and copied. DRM-protected books can be uploaded just like any other file and users can download them for viewing offline.  You can also use our API to integrate with your ecommerce store for instant automated access after a book has been purchased.  See how it works here.

Though limited to the PDF file type, Safeguard is far more secure than Kindle DRM, Kobo DRM, Nook DRM, Adobe Digital Editions, and other ebook DRM software.  It works using a combination of encryption, transparent licensing, and a secure viewer application.  DRM-protected ebooks can only be opened on authorized devices, and the ebook owner can specify how many devices are allowed.  Unlike a Kindle ebook, a Locklizard protected e-book can be viewed using any device on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and browser platforms.

Once opened, users are unable to copy, screenshot / printscreen, edit, print (unless otherwise chosen), open outside of specified countries, or save the ebook to unprotected formats.  You can additionally add dynamic watermarks that display the customer’s name to discourage photographs of the screen.  Essentially, any pirate who wants to share your ebook will have to type it out by hand.

See how you can protect ebooks from sharing and prevent piracy of digital content by taking a 15-day free trial.

   FAQs

Does Amazon sell DRM free ebooks?

Yes.  Ebook authors or publishers can choose whether to use Kindle DRM when they upload their ebook to the platform.  By default, when you publish with Amazon KDP, Amazon DRM is enabled.  The vast majority of authors and publishers use Amazon Kindle DRM as they (wrongly) assume that it is effective.

What Kindle file formats are DRM protected?

Both AZW and KFX files can be DRM protected.  The file format does determine whether DRM has been added or not.

How can I tell if my Kindle book is DRM protected?

Most Kindle books that are rented or sold have Amazon’s DRM protection.  To check, you need to look at the product details on the book’s Amazon store page.  The author may mention whether it is protected or not, or if there is the text ‘simultaneous device usage: unlimited’, the book is not protected.

Is it legal to remove DRM from Kindle books or audible audiobooks?

The legality of removing DRM varies from country-to-country.  From a US perspective, it is illegal to tamper with or remove DRM in most circumstances.  Some exceptions include removing it for accessibility reasons, for research, maintenance/repair, and security testing.  You should always talk to a legal professional before taking action.

Should I use Kindle publishing DRM or not?

Kindle publishing DRM offers no real piracy protection while locking your customers to using Amazon devices and apps.  It’s up to you to decide whether the minimal protection it offers (i.e. the fact that it is instantly removable) is worth that trade-off.

Should I use DRM for Kindle books as an indie author?

If you are determined to sell on the Kindle platform, Kindle DRM is your only real option for protection as Amazon does not allow you to publish ebooks protected by other DRM. Poor protection is better than no protection at all, so you may as while implement it provided you are okay with their being some restrictions surrounding users’ use. If you have a strong social media following, you may want to consider not publishing on Kindle at all, however. You can publish on your own website or another platform and to take a higher percentage of the revenue and implement a strong DRM such as Locklizard Safeguard.

How can I stop Amazon from removing my books for exclusivity breaches?

Amazon already seems to be reversing these bans.  However, there is no getting away from the fact that you will always be beholden to Amazon’s whim so long as you have an exclusivity agreement with them.

Your best bet is to avoid the KDP select program or Amazon entirely and use DRM that actually works.

Does Locklizard protect files in the Kindle or epub format?

No.  Locklizard Safeguard only protects PDF files.

Can customers read Locklizard-protected files on their Kindle?

You cannot view Locklizard PDFs on mainline Kindle devices such as the Paperwhite, Oasis, and Scribe, as they run a very locked-down version of Linux.  Kindle Fire devices, now called Amazon Fire, use Android, and it may be possible to read books on these using the Locklizard Android viewer.

Can Amazon detect Kindle piracy?

Amazon can tell if a Kindle book has been published elsewhere on the internet, but it does always appear to be able to accurately distinguish between legitimately and illegitimately published copies.  As far as we aware, Amazon does not take action against pirate copies or scan Kindle devices for pirate ebooks.  Since users can easily convert ebooks to other formats, such as converting epub to PDF, it would be impossible to detect piracy of ebooks in all formats.

Does Send to Kindle prevent piracy?

Send to Kindle is an Amazon feature that allows you to email ebooks to yourself.  Amazon does not prevent users from emailing pirated ebooks to themselves using this method.  It likely cannot tell the difference between legitimate and Kindle pirated books.

Does Amazon Web Services (AWS) offer DRM?