Amazon is making it a lot more durable to take away DRM from Kindle books

Usually, when Amazon releases a Kindle update, it introduces new options or enhances the machine not directly. For instance, earlier within the 12 months, Amazon added new text spacing options for e-books to its Kindle e-readers, a brand new Assistive Reader software, and a larger font setting for the consumer interface. Nonetheless, it appears that evidently with the newest Kindle replace, Amazon has centered on locking down its Kindle e-readers much more, moderately than enhancing them.

Based on Good E Reader, Amazon’s newest firmware replace (model 5.18.5) for its eleventh and Twelfth-generation Kindle e-readers, the Kindle Colorsoft, and the Kindle Scribe, has added a brand new DRM system that makes it even more durable for Kindle customers to again up any of their e-books.

The existence of a brand new DRM system was first found on the MobileRead neighborhood discussion board, with a lead developer of a Kindle jailbreak technique reportedly stating that the brand new DRM system employs an “account secret” saved in an “inaccessible location” on Kindle e-readers, which is used to unlock the encryption of an e-book if you go to learn it.

To take away the brand new DRM technique, you’d have to achieve entry to the brand new storage location of this account secret, which is barely attainable if a Kindle machine was jailbroken earlier than the replace. What this implies for Kindle lovers is that connecting your Kindle to a PC or Mac and backing up a Kindle e-book you have lately bought and downloaded utilizing DRM elimination instruments, and storing it in an e-book administration app like Calibre, is now almost inconceivable.

The replace impacts the vast majority of Kindle e-books

Earlier this 12 months, Amazon made it more durable to again up your Kindle library to your PC

The brand new DRM system seems to have an effect on most newly downloaded e-books bought from Amazon’s Kindle Retailer, whatever the date of publication or the date of buy. Reportedly, the brand new DRM just isn’t utilized in just one occasion: when the writer has requested it not be used. In such instances, the e-book’s Kindle Retailer web page will show “Simultaneous machine utilization: Limitless” below product particulars.

Based on a consumer on the MobileRead forums, they discovered it was “inconceivable to take away the DRM from 99% of the ebooks” that they had bought from Amazon. So in case you’re a Kindle fanatic who often backs up your books onto your PC, the newest replace will undoubtedly have an effect on your skill to try this.

It comes as no shock that Amazon is locking down its Kindle e-readers much more. Earlier this 12 months, Amazon controversially removed the ability to make use of the “Obtain and Switch by way of USB” possibility for its Kindle e-readers, making it even more durable for individuals to again up e-books they’ve bought and doubtlessly change to a different e-reader model, akin to Kobo.

Moreover, after this replace was launched, customers started encountering an Invalid ASIN error when making an attempt to open an e-book that had been sideloaded or transferred by means of the Kindle electronic mail system. Contemplating a brand new DRM system appears to be in impact now, I’m wondering if that is what triggered the Invalid ASIN error within the first place, however that is solely hypothesis on my half. Amazon has stated that it is investigating the Invalid ASIN error customers are experiencing, and you’ll learn extra about it in one other Pocket-lint story here.

In case your Kindle is not set to routinely replace, then the brand new DRM system should not have an effect on your e-reader. Nonetheless, be warned that if it updates to five.18.5 or later, backing up e-books you have lately bought and downloaded will change into much more difficult than it already is.