You Don't Own What You Buy from Amazon

That Kindle book you paid for? Amazon can take it back anytime.

February 10, 2026

When you click “Buy Now” on a Kindle book, an Audible audiobook, or a Prime Video film, you’re not buying it. You’re renting it. Indefinitely, sure. But Amazon can take it back whenever they want.

Most people don’t know this. I didn’t for years.

You’re licensing, not owning

Read the terms of service – the bit nobody reads before clicking “I agree.” Here’s what it actually says: you’re purchasing a license to access the content. Not the content itself.

That license comes with conditions. Amazon can revoke it if:

The publisher pulls the title from their catalogue
There’s a licensing dispute
Your account gets flagged or closed
Amazon just decides to

This isn’t theoretical. It’s happened.

When Amazon takes back what you “bought”

In 2009, Amazon deleted copies of 1984 and Animal Farm from customers’ Kindles.¹ Remotely. Without warning. People woke up and the books they’d paid for were just… gone.

Amazon refunded the purchases, but that’s not really the point, is it? Imagine if a bookshop could break into your house and take back a book you’d bought because they’d had a dispute with the publisher.

It’s happened with films too. People have lost access to Prime Video purchases when licensing deals expired.² You paid £9.99 for a film. Amazon decided you can’t watch it anymore. Tough.

Physical media was actual ownership

When you bought a book, a CD, a DVD, you owned it. You could lend it to a friend. Sell it secondhand. Keep it on your shelf forever. Nobody could take it back.

Digital purchases feel the same, but they’re not. You’re paying for conditional access, not ownership. And the conditions are entirely in Amazon’s favour.

This isn’t just Amazon

Apple, Google, Microsoft – they all do the same thing. Your iTunes library, your Google Play films, your Xbox digital games – they’re all licenses. The difference is Amazon has the biggest reach. More people trust them with their libraries, their films, their music.

What you can actually do about it

Buy physical where it matters. If you genuinely care about a book or album, buy the physical copy. You’ll own it properly.

Switch from Audible to Libby. Yes, library loans expire after 14-21 days. But at least it’s honest. Nobody’s pretending you own something when you don’t. And it’s free.

Download DRM-free when possible. Bandcamp for music. DRM-free ebooks from publishers who allow it. If you can download a file with no digital locks, you actually control it.

Know what you’re paying for. If you’re buying a Kindle book for convenience, fine. Just know it’s a conditional license, not ownership. Adjust your expectations accordingly.

The bigger problem

The reason this matters isn’t just about losing access to a book or film. It’s about who controls your stuff.

Amazon has built an empire on the idea that you can “buy” things and they’ll live in your digital library forever. But they’ve written the rules so they can take it all back whenever they want. You’re paying for a sense of ownership without the actual rights.

That’s junk government. A company writing rules that only benefit them, with no accountability when they change the terms.

If you’ve got a massive Kindle library or hundreds of Audible books, I’m not saying delete it all tomorrow. But maybe think twice before buying the next one. Physical books don’t disappear when a licensing deal expires.

You either own something, or you don’t. There’s no middle ground, no matter what Amazon’s checkout button says.

Ready to stop renting your audiobooks? Switch from Audible to Libby and get free access to thousands of audiobooks through your local library. Takes 15 minutes.