You’ve probably been happily reading ebooks on your Kindle (or the Kindle app) for years, accruing a nice digital library full of interesting titles. But what if, for some reason, someone else needs to see that library of yours…and there are some items within that you’d rather they didn’t? Say, perhaps, one of those steamy romance novels that makes up a massive 34% of fiction sales in US?
Removing Downloaded Books vs. Removing Them Permanently
Removing an item from an individual Kindle is easy: long-press the book in the Home page, then tap “Remove from Device.”
On the Kindle smartphone app, it’s very similar, but you can long-press to select multiple items, then press the delete icon or “remove from device.”
Actually banishing the book from your library completely is a bit more complex.
You can find any single item in the list just by looking, but it might be faster to sort through the list with the “Sort By” drop-down menu, or simply do a manual search with the search bar on the right side of the window.
Once you’ve found the book you want to zap away, click the “…” menu button to the left of the title. In the pop-up window that appears, click “Delete.”
You’ll get one more warning, saying that deleting the item will permanently remove it from your Kindle Library. If you ever want to read this particular book again, you’ll have to re-purchase it at full price.
If you’re sure you want the book out of your library, click “Yes, delete permanently.” Poof, it’s gone forever.
