Amazon is set to disable the “Download & Transfer via USB” feature for e-books starting February 26, 2025. You can get the full scoop at The Verge. If you feel like buying an ebook should include the ability to download said ebook, it’s time to start looking for alternatives.

Currently, Amazon allows users to download their purchased Kindle books to a computer and manually transfer them to a Kindle via USB. However, Amazon has decided to remove this option, requiring all Kindle books to be delivered directly to a WiFi-enabled Kindle through Amazon’s cloud service.

There is something about this that stinks to me. I pay for the books. I feel like I should be able to download them. I’ve bought hundreds of books from Amazon over the years and this push toward cloud-based model data control feels like crossing a line. Maybe this is a thing with me and I should have realized that I was only purchasing a “license” to read the books instead of “ownership” of the books all along.

Regardless, I’m now looking at alternatives.