Amazon now supports permanent document and book deletion from personal libraries directly from newer Kindle e-readers. The feature, first spotted by The eBook Reader, is available in software update version 5.12.5, although it’s not mentioned in the release notes.
Kindle update lets you delete docs directly from the device
Library management gets a little easier for voracious Kindle users
Library management gets a little easier for voracious Kindle users
is a deputy editor and Verge co-founder with a passion for human-centric cities, e-bikes, and life as a digital nomad. He’s been a tech journalist for 20 years.
Library management has long been an issue for voracious Kindle users. Libraries can quickly grow unwieldy, especially when using a Kindle to read news articles sent from a myriad of read-later services like Instapaper or Pocket. That leads to dozens or even hundreds of items cluttering the layout that can only be removed using Amazon’s rudimentary web interface or iOS and Android apps. Books can also be deleted directly from your Kindle, but if you want to read them again, they’ll have to be repurchased.
It works, but I found the new feature to be a bit buggy, perhaps due to Amazon Whispersync delays. Sometimes requests to delete docs never prompted me with the confirmation dialog box; other times, I was repeatedly prompted to confirm that I wanted to permanently delete docs from my library. There’s still no bulk-delete option, but even baby steps with Kindle library management can be celebrated.
Use these links to identify your Kindle e-reader and see if 5.12.5 is available for your device.
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