Earlier this year Kobo eReader users were disappointed that ARCs from NetGalley were no longer going to be compatible with Kobo devices. This was due Adobe removing active support for DRM (.acsm) files. NetGalley users are only able to access protected ARC files during a specified time limit (usually until the book is published). This is to prevent books from being shared around online for free. NetGalley switched to LCP-protected files and unfortunately, this file type was not supported on the Kobo. Until this week!

The teams at NetGalley and Rakuten Kobo have been working together over the past few months in order to bring ARCs back to Kobo users. NetGalley’s protected epub files are now compatible with the Kobo eReader, providing additional reading options for NetGalley reviewers around the world. The “Send to Kobo” button can be found next to all other download options in your “Start Reading” page.

Kobo devices grew in popularity with readers last summer due to growing frustrations with the Kindle eReader and Amazon’s company practises. I personally resold my Kindle Oasis on eBay last August in favour of purchasing a Kobo Libre Color, as Amazon’s approach to bookselling has a direct and negative impact on booksellers and authors which I was no longer willing to support.