The main ways to share Kindle books
Amazon offers three separate ways to share Kindle books with family members, and which one works depends on what you want to share and who you want to share it with. The most common method is Family Library, which lets you and up to three other adults share most of your purchased ebooks with each other automatically. A second option is Kindle MatchBook, which gives you a free or discounted ebook version when you buy the physical book — useful if you want to hand off a book you own to someone else. The third is lending, where you send a specific book to one person for a set period, usually 14 days.
Each method has real limits. Family Library requires all members to link their Amazon accounts together and share a payment method, which not everyone wants to do. Lending only works for books the publisher allows, and you can't read the book while someone else is borrowing it. MatchBook doesn't let you share — it just means you own both versions yourself.
Key Takeaways
- Family Library is the easiest way to share most of your Kindle books with up to three other adults, but everyone must link their Amazon accounts and agree to share a payment method.
- Not all books can be shared through Family Library — some publishers restrict it, and you can see which books are shareable before you buy.
- Lending lets you send a single book to anyone with an email address for 14 days, but only if the publisher allows lending and you cannot read it while they have it.
- Kindle MatchBook gives you a free or cheap ebook when you buy the physical book, but this is for your own use, not for sharing with others.
- Children's accounts in Family Library have separate restrictions — parents can control what they see, and some content is blocked automatically.
Setting up Family Library with other adults
To create a Family Library, go to Amazon.com, sign in, and navigate to Account & Lists > Your Account > Family Library. Click Create your Family Library and add up to three other adults by their email address. Each person must accept the invitation and link their Amazon account to yours. Once they do, you all share a single payment method — usually the account holder's — and all your Kindle books appear on each other's devices automatically.
Before you invite someone, understand what this means. Everyone in the library can see and download every book you buy going forward (unless the publisher blocks sharing). You all use the same payment method, so whoever buys a book charges it to the shared account. You can remove someone from the library at any time, but they keep any books they've already downloaded. If you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription, it does not transfer to other adults in the library — each person needs their own subscription if they want it.
If you have children, add them as child accounts instead of adult accounts. Child accounts have parental controls built in, and you can restrict content by age rating. Children cannot buy books on their own, and you can see what they're reading from your account.
Checking which books you can actually share
Not every book in your Kindle library can be shared through Family Library. Publishers set these restrictions, and Amazon shows you which books are shareable before you buy. On the book's product page, look for a line that says "Lending: Enabled" or "Lending: Disabled" under the price. If lending is disabled, the book cannot be shared through Family Library either.
Some publishers, particularly for textbooks, reference materials, and certain professional books, block sharing entirely. If you buy a book and later find out it's not shareable, you can still read it yourself — the restriction only prevents others from accessing it. You can see your entire library and filter by shareability in your Kindle Library on Amazon.com by clicking Preferences and looking for sharing status.
Lending a single book to someone outside your family
If you want to share a book with someone who isn't in your Family Library, you can lend it to them for 14 days. The person you lend to needs an email address and a Kindle device or the free Kindle reading app on their phone or computer. Go to your Kindle Library, find the book, click the three-dot menu next to it, and select Lend this title. Enter their email address and send.
The recipient gets an email with a link to accept the loan. Once they accept, the book appears in their Kindle library for 14 days. You cannot read the book while they have it — it's locked to your account until the loan ends or they return it early. Not all books support lending; if the option doesn't appear, the publisher has blocked it. After 14 days, the book returns to your library automatically, and you can lend it to someone else or read it again yourself.
Using Kindle MatchBook for books you own in print
Kindle MatchBook is a program where Amazon gives you a free or discounted ebook version of a physical book you've bought from Amazon. You don't share this version — it's added to your own Kindle library. The discount or free offer usually lasts for a limited time after the book's release, so if you buy the physical book years later, the ebook may no longer be free.
To find MatchBook books, search on Amazon and look for a banner that says "Kindle MatchBook" on the product page. Click it to add the ebook to your library at the listed price (often free). This is useful if you want to own both formats yourself, but it doesn't help you share with others — the ebook is tied to your account just like any other Kindle book.
What happens when you remove someone from Family Library
If you remove an adult from your Family Library, they lose access to new books you buy, but they keep any books they've already downloaded to their devices. Those books stay on their Kindle, phone, or tablet indefinitely — Amazon doesn't remotely delete them. However, if they try to download a book again after being removed, they won't be able to.
Removing a child account is different. When you remove a child, they lose access to all books in the library immediately, including ones they've already downloaded. The books disappear from their devices. If you want to keep a child's access to specific books after removing them from the library, you'll need to lend those books to them individually or buy them under their own account.
Sharing books across different devices and apps
Once a book is in your Kindle library — whether through Family Library, lending, or purchase — you can read it on any device where you're signed into your Amazon account. This includes Kindle e-readers, tablets, phones (using the Kindle app), and web browsers (using Kindle Cloud Reader). If someone in your Family Library downloads a book to their Kindle device, they can also read it on their phone or computer as long as they're signed in with their Amazon account.
The one exception is Kindle Unlimited books. If you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription and borrow a book through the program, only you can read it — it doesn't appear in your Family Library even if sharing is normally enabled for that title. Each person in the library needs their own Kindle Unlimited subscription to borrow from that catalog.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I share Kindle books with someone who doesn't have a Kindle device?
Yes. Anyone can read Kindle books using the free Kindle app on their phone, tablet, or computer. They just need an Amazon account and the app installed. If you're lending a book, they need an email address to receive the invitation. If they're in your Family Library, they need to link their Amazon account to yours.
What if the person I want to share with doesn't have an Amazon account?
They'll need to create one. For Family Library, they must have an account and link it to yours. For lending, they need an account to accept the loan invitation. Creating an Amazon account is free and takes a few minutes.
Can I share Kindle Unlimited books with my family?
No. Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service, and books borrowed through it are tied to the person who has the subscription. They don't appear in Family Library. Each person who wants to read Kindle Unlimited books needs their own subscription.
How do I know if a book can be lent before I buy it?
Look at the product page on Amazon.com. Under the price, you'll see a line that says either "Lending: Enabled" or "Lending: Disabled." If it says disabled, you cannot lend that book or share it through Family Library. Some older books don't show this information — you can try to lend them anyway, and Amazon will tell you if it's not allowed.
Can I lend a book to the same person twice?
Yes, but not at the same time. After the 14-day loan period ends or they return it early, the book comes back to your library and you can lend it to anyone again, including the same person.