The walls of Amazon’s walled garden for books are rising higher:
Amazon is letting users know, via a pop-up message when using Kindle for PC, that it will be discontinued on June 30, 2026. When this date comes, the app will no longer work, even if you download it from another website. The company has disclosed to Good e-Reader that Amazon is developing a new Kindle for PC app, but it will only be compatible with Windows 11. This will be an app available only to download from the Microsoft Store.
The Kindle for PC app launched in 2009 and never really got any love from Amazon. Many modern users who use Kindle for PC do so only to download books locally for the express purpose of stripping the DRM. Older versions of Kindle for PC can do this more easily, but in the past couple of years, Amazon has forced updates on older versions of the app, or you won’t be able to access or read books. Kindle for PC was basically a war zone between pirates and Amazon, with both sides implementing fixes.
Amazon is doing everything it can to lock down the Kindle e-readers and their various apps.
While we are using Amazon again, and with some degree of success, I can’t stress enough how important it is to directly support Castalia, because as we’ve repeatedly seen, Amazon can completely eliminate even a very successful business overnight.