Amazon said he would allow it Authors to offer DRM-free eBooks in epub and PDF formats through a self-authorized, direct publishing platform. Starting on January 20, 2026, authors who set their titles as DRM-free will see their books made available in a more open format.
The decision to use Digital Rights Management (DRM), a copyright protection mechanism, is set by the author when publishing eBooks on the Amazon platform.
The company notes this change will not affect previously published titles. If the author wants to change the status of the old title, he must log in to the author’s Author Publishing (KDP) Portal and change the options in the settings. (Instructions on how to make these changes Amazon KDP Support Site here.)
This move may encourage authors to apply DRM to their ebooks.
As One author in the KDP Community ForumLeslie Anne Perry, noted, “previously, I had not enabled DRM on my e-book. However, I wanted others to be able to download it as a PDF (SIC).”
Other members were rejected again in their complaint, arguing that it does not increase their privacy, because those who want to can throw their existing free Kindle files into the software to convert them to epub or PDF.
Amazon’s new feature is “easier” for readers to enjoy the content they have purchased, but the reality is that they have to choose if they want to open access to older works. To remove the DRM, the author must click on the box that says, “I understand that without applying DRM, customers who have purchased and have purchased this book will be able to download it as a PDF or epug file.”
Elsewhere, Amazon has made it more difficult for Brethren owners to share or back up ebooks through the use of more severe DRM.
With Brother software updates for 11th and 12th generation devices, retailers Introducing a new DRM system That makes it impossible for Sendle users to create ebooks without jailbreaking their devices. This has followed an Previous changes To remove the option of download and transfer via USB, which is very angry with Kindle owners.
After an author updates an eBook’s DRM status, Amazon says the change takes up to 72 hours before the change goes live on Amazon.com.