“What will happen to the hundreds of books I bought on my Kindle when I die?” Have you ever wondered that?

With paper books, you can leave the whole bookshelf to your family, but E-books are a different story. In fact, e-books purchased from major services such as Kindle, Rakuten Kobo, and Apple Books are treated as "licenses (renting the right to read)" rather than "purchases" according to the terms of service. In other words,the book you think you bought is strictly a ``right that only you can read''.

In this article, we will introduce the reasons why e-books cannot be inherited and three practical ways to leave books to your family, based on the terms of use of each service as of March 2026.

Isn't "purchasing" an e-book a purchase? Difference between ownership and license

When you buy a paper book, the "ownership" of the book is transferred to you. So you can freely lend it, give it away, or sell it on Mercari.

However, e-books are different. Amazon Kindle's Terms of Service says this:

``Kindle Content is licensed, not sold to you by the content provider.''

Roughly speaking, when you ``bought'' a Kindle book for 1,500 yen, you are only borrowing the ``right to read'' it for 1,500 yen. This right is tied to you as an individual, so in principle it cannot be transferred or inherited to another person.

This is not just a Kindle issue. According to Rakuten Kobo Terms of Use, the right to use content is limited to the account holder. Similarly, with Apple Books, purchased content is licensed for personal use.

In short, The legal reality is that no matter what service you buy an e-book from, it is the same as ``borrowing'' it.

"Can I inherit" issue by service

So, will my family actually be unable to read it when I die? We have organized the support for the three main services (as of March 2026).

Amazon Kindle

The Terms of Use clearly states, ``You may not sell, rent, lease, distribute, sublicense, or otherwise transfer any rights to Kindle Content to any third party.'' In other words, according to the rules, inheritance is prohibited.

However, according to multiple reports, Amazon customer service has expressed the opinion that ``If it is used between family members for non-commercial purposes, there is no particular problem.'' In other words, it is virtually forbidden for family members to log into the deceased's account and continue reading.

Although there is a "Family Library" function in the United States that allows families to share Kindle books, as of March 2026, it is not available in Japan.

Rakuten Kobo

Rakuten Kobo's Terms of Use do not have clear provisions regarding account transfer or name change. The license is provided in a form linked to a Rakuten ID, and according to the terms, it can only be used by the ID holder.

E-books purchased on Rakuten Kobo are stored on the cloud's "bookshelf," so even if your device breaks, you can redownload them by logging in with your Rakuten ID. However, as it is not possible to change the name of the Rakuten ID itself, it is difficult to officially take over the Rakuten ID through inheritance.

Apple Books

Similarly with Apple Books, purchased content is a personal license linked to your Apple ID. However, Apple has an official feature calledFamily Sharing that lets you share purchased content with up to six family members.

According to Apple's official guide, when you enable Family Sharing, members can download App Store, Apple Books, and Apple TV content that other members have purchased. This is different from inheritance, but if you set it up before your death, you can create an environment where your family can continue to read it.

3 practical ways to leave e-books to your family

Even if you are told that you cannot inherit according to the rules, you don't want the hundreds of books you bought to just disappear. Here we will introduce three practical solutions that can be used in 2026.

Method 1: Use "Family Sharing" in Apple Books (recommended)

This is the most official and safe method. By setting up Apple ID Family Sharing, you can share your purchased e-books with up to six family members.

The setup process is easy, just turn on iPhone's "Settings" → your name → "Family Sharing" → "Share purchased items". All you have to do is invite your family to your family group so they can download it on their own devices.

Point: If you are going to buy an e-book from now on, purchasing it through Apple Books will make it easier to share it with your family in the future.

Method 2: Use a shared account with your family

For Kindle and Kobo, the official Family Sharing feature is limited in Japan. Therefore, a practical method is to share and use one account with your family from the beginning.

For example, you can share an Amazon account with your family and read books purchased with the same account on multiple devices (Kindle devices and smartphone apps). Kindle can be used on up to six devices per account at the same time, so by registering each device in your family, you can create an environment where everyone can read.

Note: Your purchase history and credit card information are also linked to your Amazon account. Before sharing, be sure to check that there is no information that you would be uncomfortable seeing. Additionally, Kindle's terms of use presuppose "personal use," so it is important to keep it to private use at home.

Method 3: Use a DRM-free e-book store

Actually, there are e-books that are not protected by DRM (Digital Rights Management). DRM-free books can be saved as EPUB or PDF files, so you can give them to your family via USB memory or cloud storage.

Main stores where you can purchase DRM-free e-books:

  • Tatsujin Publishing — Mainly technical books. Downloadable as EPUB/PDF
  • O'Reilly Japan (technical book) — DRM-free in PDF format
  • BOOK☆WALKER — Some publishers support DRM-free distribution

Also, in December 2025, Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) DRM policy has been changed, and from January 20, 2026, books without DRM settings can be downloaded as EPUB or PDF. However, this is limited to books that the author/publisher has set as not requiring DRM.

Things you should do for your “digital retirement”

Not limited to e-books, most services on the Internet can only be accessed by the person in question. In order to prevent your family from suffering in an emergency, organize the following from the perspective of digital end of life.

  • Create a password list — Record login information for e-book accounts such as Amazon, Rakuten, and Apple ID in a safe place
  • List what services you buy and what you buy — Make a list like Kindle: 200 books, Rakuten Kobo: 50 books, etc.
  • Setting up Family Sharing before you die — Apple's Family Sharing cannot be set up after death
  • Purchase famous books that you would like to preserve in paper format as well — Having both electronic and paper copies may seem wasteful, but only paper can be ``reliably preserved''

According to Nikkei Crosstrend survey, there is an increasing number of bereaved families who are having trouble handling the digital content of the deceased. It's best to prepare while you're still healthy and don't think, ``It doesn't matter to me.''

Be aware of the risk of service termination

Apart from inheritance, another concern is Won't I be able to read books once the service ends?

In conclusion, there is a high possibility that books that have been downloaded to the device can be read even after the service ends. In the past, when Sony's "Reader Store" was withdrawn from overseas, there was an example where purchased content was migrated.

However, If the bookshelf on the cloud disappears, you won't be able to download it again, so it's a good idea to download important books to your device regularly. Amazon, Rakuten Kobo, and Apple are all stable services at the moment, but there is no guarantee that they will last 100% forever.

FAQ

Can I inherit books I bought on Kindle to my family?

According to the Terms of Use, this is not allowed because it is considered a "transfer of a license." However, Amazon customer service has shown an attitude of tacit approval for non-commercial use between family members, and in fact it is possible to share accounts and continue reading.

What is the difference in the handling of inheritance between e-books and paper books?

Because paper books are "things," they have ownership rights and can be inherited as inheritance. On the other hand, e-books are a "license", so in principle they expire upon the death of the subscriber. Legally, only paper books can be kept.

Can Apple Books Family Sharing replace inheritance?

Although it is not a complete replacement, if you set it up before your death, it is likely that your family will continue to have access to the content. Apple's response to the death of a family group administrator is not clear, so it is best to transfer administrator privileges to another family member.

Can I change the Rakuten Kobo account name to a family member?

As of March 2026, it is not possible to change the name of your Rakuten ID. Since Rakuten Kobo's purchased content is linked to Rakuten ID, it is currently difficult to formally inherit the content since the ID name cannot be changed.

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