Starting Feb. 26, 2025 (via ZDNet) you will no longer be able to download copies of your Kindle books and use those files as a backup. After that date, you will only be able to download books via Wi-Fi or through the Amazon platforms.

Amazon is removing the "Download & Transfer via USB" feature for Kindle users starting Feb. 26, 2025, limiting offline backups and raising concerns about ebook ownership.

Amazon confirmed the removal of the book download feature in a statement to The Verge. “Customers can continue reading books previously downloaded on their Kindle device, and access new content through the Kindle app, Kindle for web, as well as directly through Kindle devices with WiFi capability,” said Amazon spokesperson Jackie Burke.

As spotted by Good E-Reader, as of February 26, 2025, Amazon is set to kill off its Download & Transfer via USB option for all Kindles, meaning the only way you’ll be able to buy and download eBooks and other purchases is over Wi-Fi.

Amazon has long offered a “Download & transfer via USB” option for your purchases. That option was removed for the most recent generation of Kindles, and is going away for old models on February 26. Amazon may be trying to close a piracy loophole, as the AZW3 files the tool generated where vulnerable to DRM-removal hacks.