Remove a book by long-pressing its cover
To remove a book from your Kindle app on a phone or tablet, open the app and find the book in your library. Press and hold the book's cover image for two to three seconds until a menu appears. Tap Remove from device or Delete — the exact wording depends on whether you own the book or borrowed it.
The book disappears from your library when ready. If you own it, the book stays in your Amazon account and you can read it again later. If you borrowed it through a library, it returns to your library's collection and you cannot re-read it unless you borrow it again.
Key Takeaways
- Long-press the book cover in your Kindle library to open a menu with removal options.
- Removing a book from your device does not delete it from your Amazon account if you own it.
- Borrowed library books cannot be re-downloaded after removal unless you borrow them again.
- On a computer, right-click the book title in your library to find the remove option.
- Removing books frees up storage space on your phone or tablet without affecting your account.
Remove a book on a computer or web browser
If you use Kindle on a computer, go to your library at amazon.com and sign in. Find the book you want to remove, right-click its cover or title, and select Remove from library or Delete. The book vanishes from your library view.
Removing a book this way works the same as on a phone: owned books stay in your Amazon account for later read, and borrowed books return to your library's collection. You can also manage your entire library from this page by sorting by date added, title, or author to find books more quickly.
The difference between removing and deleting
The Kindle app uses two different terms depending on what you own. Remove from device means the book stays in your account but is no longer stored on your phone or tablet. Delete usually means the same thing for books you own — they remain in your account. However, for borrowed library books, deletion is permanent for that borrow period.
If you see a warning message before removing a book, read it carefully. It will tell you whether the book can be re-downloaded later or whether removal is final. Borrowed books always show a warning because you cannot get them back without borrowing again.
Free up storage space without losing your books
Removing books from your device is the fastest way to free up storage space on a phone or tablet. Each book takes up only a few megabytes, but if you have hundreds of books downloaded, they add up. Removing books you have finished reading keeps your library organized and your device running smoothly.
You can remove books selectively — keep only the ones you are actively reading or plan to read soon. Your entire library remains in your Amazon account, so you can read any book again whenever you want. This approach works well if you read across multiple devices and want to keep only current reads on each one.
Manage your library across devices
If you use Kindle on a phone, tablet, and computer, removing a book from one device does not remove it from the others. Each device maintains its own downloaded library. You can have a book on your phone but not on your tablet, or vice versa.
To keep your reading organized across devices, remove books from devices where you have finished them. Your Amazon account tracks which books you own and which you have borrowed, so you always know what is available to read. Some readers keep a small set of current reads on their phone and a larger library on a tablet for browsing.
What happens to your reading progress
When you remove a book from your device, Kindle saves your reading progress in your Amazon account. If you read the book again later, it opens to the page where you stopped reading. This works for both owned books and borrowed books, as long as you re-borrow them before the lending period ends.
Your bookmarks, highlights, and notes stay in your account even after you remove the book. When you read it again, all your markings reappear. This means you can safely remove a book to save space and pick it up exactly where you left off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will removing a book from my Kindle app delete it from my Amazon account?
No. Removing a book from your device only deletes the downloaded file. The book remains in your Amazon account, and you can read it again anytime. This applies to books you own. Borrowed library books return to your library's collection but can be borrowed again.
Can I remove multiple books at once?
On most phones and tablets, you must remove books one at a time by long-pressing each cover. On a computer, you can select multiple books by clicking checkboxes next to their titles, then use the bulk remove option. Check your Kindle app version, as this feature varies.
What if I accidentally remove a book I wanted to keep?
You can read it again when ready from your library. Open your Kindle app, go to your library, find the book, and tap the read button. Your reading progress and highlights are still there. There is no undo button, but re-downloading takes only a few seconds.
Does removing a book free up space on my phone?
Yes. Each book takes up storage space on your device. Removing books you have finished reading frees up that space for other apps or files. The amount varies by book length, but removing dozens of books can free up hundreds of megabytes on a phone with limited storage.
Can I remove a borrowed library book before the lending period ends?
Yes. You can remove a borrowed book anytime, and it returns to your library's collection when ready. If you want to finish reading it, you must borrow it again. Some libraries let you re-borrow the same book right away, while others have a waiting period.