Ever had a review on your books disappear? Or wonder why some people get flagged and can’t review your books? This could be the reason why!
* Updated September 16th, 2026 *
Depending on where you get your Amazon book link, the link you share could include tracking data. For example, you might want to share your book link with a potential reader or with readers like your social media followers. It’s easy to go directly to your preferred Amazon marketplace, search for your book, and then copy and paste the link. It is easy, but it’s also the wrong way to share your book’s link, because it includes small pieces of tracking data from your search.
If someone uses that link, purchases your book, and ultimately leaves a review, Amazon’s algorithm and monitoring can see where the original link came from and potentially flag and remove any reviews originating from that link because it’s linked to your Amazon KDP Author account. Luckily, there’s an easier and safer way to share links to your book.
In the following article, we’ll discuss:
- Why Amazon Removes Reviews from Books
- How to Strip Down Your Amazon Book Link
- How to Get Links Directly from Your Amazon KDP Author Dashboard
Amazon might be removing your book’s reviews for a few reasons, and at least one could be your fault. I know, it couldn’t be our fault, right? We follow all the rules, so it can’t be that. Well, it just might be!
If you’re a new Canadian author still considering where to self-publish your book, read The Best Self-Publishing Platforms for Canadian Authors! We cover everything you need to know about the most popular self-publishing platforms in Canada, including Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), IngramSpark Publishing, Apple Books, and more.
Why Does Amazon KDP Remove Reviews from Books?
One of the most common reasons Amazon KDP removes reviews is social media connections, and it’s always good reviews. Unfortunately, it’s never spammy reviews that have nothing to do with your book or that breach Amazon’s Review Terms and Conditions.
It’s not unheard of for an author to add people to social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, BookBub, AllAuthor, Instagram, Medium, Goodreads, and many more. Amazon KDP can then link these connections, and its computer-based algorithms mark the author and the reviewer as friends and delete the reviews.
Good luck getting reviews reinstated, too. It’s almost impossible, but I have had author friends have their reviewing privileges taken away and then got them reinstated again. It’s very hit-or-miss and can take a lot of back-and-forth to actually speak to someone.
Another reason Amazon may remove reviews is that the reviewer has broken one or more of Amazon’s Terms of Service. Amazon will then remove all their reviews. If they have reviewed several of your books, then kiss them all goodbye.
Access your KDP platform or Amazon from a shared IP address such as a public library or apartment. Well, Amazon automatically assumes that people are reviewing from one IP address and removes the reviews. As I found out personally, they’ll also ban you from reviewing anything again. My wife and I both had Amazon accounts, but because we use the same Wi-Fi, Amazon ended up banning us both from reviewing anything.
Friends-and-family reviews are also not allowed. If your mom or dad reviews one of your books and they’re linked to you online in any way, say goodbye to those reviews.
For Canadian authors still considering whether or not Amazon KDP is the best self-publishing platform for them, check out The Complete Guide to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing for Canadian Authors, where we cover everything you’ll need to know about getting started on Amazon KDP for the first time.
Stripping Down Your Amazon Book Link
This is the manual way to strip down your book link. It’s handy to know if you can’t access your Amazon KDP Author Account because you’re away from the computer.
Go to Amazon, search for your book, and click it. It creates a link. Now, that link contains small packets of information. I’ll use one of my books as an example and show you the link Amazon generated after I searched for it:
This is the full link that Amazon developed. Now, imagine you do a free book giveaway and use that link in an email blast. Amazon’s robots and algorithms may find that a little bit suspicious.
A cleaner, easier link to the same book would look like this.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1530776279 – Paperback.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DTRYMJ0 – eBook.
All you need is the initial link to Amazon – https://www.amazon.com add /dp/ and then your ASIN for the eBook and the ISBN-10 for Paperback books.
An easy and fast way to get this link is through your Amazon KDP Author Dashboard. Where your books are listed, you can choose to go directly to the eBook or Paperback version of your book on multiple Amazon platforms. When you click that link, it takes you to the Amazon site, and the link in your Internet Explorer is the stripped-down, clean version. Quick and easy!
As authors, it’s easy to get hung up on reviews, especially if you don’t have many or you get a bad one you feel is unjustified. Don’t stress about it. If your book sells and it’s worth reviewing, people will review it. To put it in perspective, we average 1-2 reviews per month, which are about 1% of sales. Sometimes, we don’t even get that. Reviews can take a long time to come in.
Why Stripping Your Amazon Book Link Makes Sense! | Conclusion
If stripping your Amazon book links didn’t make sense before, then you should be ready to go now. Reviews are an important part of driving traffic and ultimately sales of your book on platforms like Amazon, and losing reviews can be extremely upsetting.
If you are writing a book and need any assistance with paperback or ebook formatting, cover design, professional editing, uploading to self-publishing sites such as Amazon KDP and IngramSpark Publishing, or Amazon KDP keyword and category research, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We also offer children’s book illustrations and formatting services.
Chrissy Hobbs is the owner and founder of Indie Publishing Group, a self-publishing services provider based in Ontario, Canada, which helps authors self-publish their books on Amazon KDP, IngramSpark Publishing and other self-publishing platforms. With over a decade of experience in the publishing industry and also being a best-selling children’s book author of The Day My Fart Followed Me to Hockey and Hockey Wars, you know your book is in good hands.
