7 Kindle Settings You Need to Change in 2026
A Happy New Year to everyone!
There are 7 Kindle settings that you need to change in 2026 that will completely transform your reading experience.
Some of these will save you time, some will save you battery, and one of them will show you reading insights you never knew existed.
So, let’s dive in and optimise your Kindle.
#1 Organise Your Library Tab
By default, your Kindle library can get really cluttered with books, Audible audiobooks, collections, and if you read series, you might have dozens of books from the same series listed separately.
Here’s what to do to start organising your library:
Settings → Home and Library → Library Tab
From this point, you have three options:
- Group Series: Toggle this on to sort your series into one listing on your main library page. If you leave this off, your books from a series will show individually in your library.
- Collections: You can have collections always showing, show only your favourite collections, or only show when you filter the collections view.
- Audible: You can have Audible books as always showing in your library, or only when filtered.
Adjusting these three settings to suit your preference will make your library so much cleaner and easier to navigate.
#2 Display Your Book Covers
This one might cost you money, but for me, it’s worth it.
When you first buy your Kindle, there will be the option to buy with or without ads. If you go for the option to have ads, which lowers the initial price of your Kindle, your lock screen will show ads for books or Kindle Unlimited.
To remove this from your device, go to:
Amazon.com → Manage Your Content and Devices → Devices → [Name of Your Kindle] → Special Offers
For me, the price to remove adds was £10/$13.50.
Once removed, head to Settings → Screen and brightness → then toggle “Show covers on lock screen” on or off.
I find this makes my Kindle lock screen feel more premium, without the ads, but if you’re on a budget, this would be a setting you can skip.
#3 Turn Off Popular Highlights
Popular Highlights show you what other Kindle readers have highlighted in the same book. You'll see passages underlined with a note saying "1,247 highlighters".
In self-help books or business books, it can be useful. It's like a crowdsourced summary of the key points.
But at times, especially when reading fiction, I can find this distracting. Rather than making my own assessment of important passages, I sometimes feel compelled to go with the views of others.
So here's how to turn it off. While you're reading, tap the top of the screen, then tap the “Aa” icon, then the “More” tab, and toggle off "Popular Highlights".
Of course, if this is a setting you like having, then keep it on. If you’re unsure, then turn popular highlights off for a week, and see how it changes your reading experience.
#4 Dark Mode
If you read your Kindle at night, then this setting could be a game-changer.
By default, your Kindle has a white background with black text. But you can flip that to a black background with white text, and it's much easier on your eyes in dark environments.
To turn it on, swipe down from the top of your screen while reading, then look for the sun icon in the top right labelled 'Dark Mode'. Press this button to toggle it on and off.
I like to keep on Light Mode during the daytime, and then use Dark Mode at night.
#5 Airplane Mode for Battery Saving
Kindles already have incredible battery life, but not everyone knows this trick to extend the life even further. And that is turning Airplane mode on.
When you leave Wi-Fi on, your Kindle is constantly syncing your reading progress, checking for updates, and staying connected.
That’s why I make sure I download everything I need, then turn on Airplane Mode, whenever I need to extend my battery life. This is particularly useful whenever I have a longer trip or time away.
If you need to sync your device, turn Airplane mode off, and then you can turn it back on as soon as you’re done.
This is a great option to get even more battery life out of your Kindle.
#6 Read Your Kindle Without Your Kindle
So, this one isn’t really a setting, but it’s a feature I have started to use in 2025, and want to use even more in 2026.
You can download the Kindle app on your phone or tablet, so you can read your Amazon-bought content wherever you are.
For longer reading sessions, I’ll always use my Kindle, but this is perfect for times when you don’t have your Kindle, but you have a spare moment. This might be standing in line for a coffee or sitting in a waiting room.
Compared to 2024, I doubled my reading at the end of 2025, just by using those little pockets of time throughout the day.
#7 Kindle Reading Insights
This final "setting" is really another feature, but I only discovered it recently, and I’m finding it so useful.
Go to amazon.com/kindle/reading/insights, and you'll see a dashboard with all your reading stats.
From this dashboard, you can see how many books you’ve read, how many days you’ve read in a row, and your reading streak.
What I love about this is how it gamifies your reading. The streak system is a small psychological trick, but it works.
If you've never checked this out, use the link above and go have a look at your stats.
💭Closing Thoughts
Those are the seven Kindle settings you need to change in 2026. I guarantee that even just changing one or two of these will benefit your reading on Kindle in 2026.
Which of these settings do you want to try first? Let me know by contacting me at Hello@charliesamways.com.
I’d love to hear your experiences reading and using e-readers, so please reach out to share your thoughts.
You can check out the video all about this topic on my YouTube channel below:
If you’re passionate about e-ink technology, reading, or self-improvement, I’d love to hear from you. So please drop me a message.
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