Kindle Unlimited
Reading on your phone with the Kindle app: settings that help
In short
With the free Kindle app you can read on your phone without buying an e-reader. Adjust the font size until you read without effort, use the dark background at night and download books before leaving home to read offline. The app syncs your last page across your devices and saves your highlights.
Full guide: Kindle Unlimited
| Setting | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Font size | Whatever lets you read without bringing the phone closer |
| Background | White by day, sepia for long sessions, black at night |
| Brightness | Low, adjusted inside the app |
| Download | Over wifi, before you leave |
| Notifications | Silenced while you read |
Why read on your phone
Because you always have it on you. The best reader is the one within reach when ten free minutes appear: in a queue, on the underground, waiting for someone. Those moments, added up, give you a book a month. It does not replace a quiet afternoon of reading, but it turns dead time into pages.
Installing and getting started
Download the Kindle app from your phone's store and sign in with your Amazon account. Your library appears at once: the books you have bought and, if you have Kindle Unlimited, the ones you have borrowed. Tap a title to download it. The app is free and does not require any Amazon device.
Where the books come from
- Books bought in the Kindle store, which stay in your account.
- Kindle Unlimited books, if you have the subscription.
- Free samples: the first chapter of almost any book, to try before you buy.
- Public-domain classics, many of them free.
Samples are the least used and most useful feature. Before paying for a book, download the sample and read the opening. If after ten pages it has not caught you, you have saved yourself the purchase.
Font size and typeface
Raise the size until you read without bringing the phone close to your face. More pages is not worse reading: it is the same reading with less effort. Try the different typefaces too. The difference between one and another seems small and shows after twenty minutes. If you are long-sighted, choose large type and a face with heavier strokes.
Background colour
White by day, sepia for long sessions and black at night so as not to be dazzled. The sepia background lowers the contrast and is less tiring when you read for an hour at a stretch. Black with light text is the least bothersome in a dark room, both for you and for whoever is sleeping beside you.
Brightness
Lower it inside the app rather than using the system setting. That way you do not change the brightness of the rest of the phone. A screen that is too bright is the main cause of fatigue when reading on a phone. The reference is simple: the screen should not be the brightest thing in the room.
Margins, line spacing and alignment
The display menus let you change the margins and the space between lines. On a narrow screen, small margins and generous line spacing make reading flow better. Give two minutes to trying combinations the first time. It is saved for all your books.
Turning pages or scrolling
The app offers two ways of moving forward: turning the page with a tap or scrolling continuously, as on a website. People who come from paper usually prefer pages; people who read a lot on their phones, scrolling. Try both. For reading one-handed on public transport, turning the page with your thumb is the most comfortable.
Reading offline
Downloaded books are read without internet. Before a trip, open each book you want to take and check that it is downloaded. On the underground or on a plane you will be glad you did. Books take up very little: you can carry dozens without noticing the space.
Picking up where you left off
The app syncs the last page read across your devices. You can read on your phone during the journey and carry on at home on the tablet at the same line. For it to work, both devices have to have connected to the internet at some point after reading. If they do not match, there is an option to sync manually.
Dictionary and highlights
Press and hold a word and the app shows its definition and, in books in another language, its translation. It is the feature that helps most with reading in a foreign language. Drag your finger across a sentence to highlight it or add a note.
Everything you mark is gathered in one section of the book, so that when you finish you have a summary made of your own quotations, useful for studying or for remembering why you liked it.
Searching inside the book
The search finds any word in the whole text. It is useful for remembering who a character was who appeared two hundred pages ago or for locating a quotation. It is one of the real advantages of the ebook over paper, and almost nobody uses it.
Reading in another language
With the built-in dictionary, reading in a language you are learning stops being a chore. You tap the word, see the translation and carry on. Start with books you already know or with young-adult fiction, which uses more direct vocabulary. After two or three books you look up half as much.
Tidying the library
Once you have more than twenty books, create collections: to read, read, reference, by genre. Remove from the device the ones you have finished; they stay in your account and you can download them again. A tidy library avoids the effect of opening the app and not knowing what to read.
How not to get distracted
The phone is the worst place to concentrate. Turn on focus mode or flight mode while you read. Ten minutes without notifications are worth more than half an hour interrupted. If you use your phone to read in bed, switch off night-time notifications too: a single lit-up screen is enough to pull you out of the book.
Reading at night
Black background, brightness at minimum and, if your phone has one, the filter that reduces blue light. Hold the phone at eye level instead of lowering your head: your neck notices. And set yourself a limit. The screen does not warn you that an hour has gone by, the way the tiredness of holding a book does.
Battery
Reading uses little compared with video or games, especially with low brightness and a dark background. An hour of reading barely shows. On long trips, carry your books downloaded and switch on flight mode: the battery lasts far longer without searching for coverage.
Ten minutes a day
If you want to build the habit, do not set out to read for an hour. Set out to read ten minutes at a fixed moment: the morning journey, the lunch queue, before sleep. Leave the app on your phone's home screen, in the spot where you used to keep a social network. After two weeks you will do it without thinking.
The tablet, a middle way
If you read comics, books with images or documents, a tablet is more comfortable than a phone. The app is the same and the library syncs. For novels, the difference is smaller: what you gain in size you lose in weight.
Accessibility
The app includes settings designed for people with reading difficulties: typefaces made to improve legibility, wider spacing between letters and lines, and compatibility with the phone's own screen reader, which can read the text aloud. If you read with reading glasses and are tired of hunting for them, very large type on your phone solves more than it seems.
Your own documents
As well as books, you can send personal documents to your library, such as notes or long articles, to read with the same font and background settings. It is useful for studying on public transport or for reading at leisure a text that is awkward in the browser. The sending options are in the app's help.
When an e-reader is worth it
If you read more than an hour a day, if you read in the sun or if you want the battery to last weeks, an e-ink reader is more comfortable. It does not dazzle, has no notifications and weighs less than a paperback. For everything else, and for trying Kindle Unlimited before spending on a device, the phone is enough.
| Phone | Tablet | E-ink reader | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Always with you | Yes | No | Sometimes |
| Long reading | Tiring | Acceptable | Comfortable |
| In the sun | Poor | Poor | Good |
| Distractions | Many | Some | None |
| Extra cost | None | None, if you already have one | It has to be bought |
Trying Kindle Unlimited from your phone
The 30-day Kindle Unlimited free trial can be done entirely from your phone. It is the cheapest way to find out whether digital reading is for you. Before starting, check that the books you want are in the catalogue, as we explain in whether Kindle Unlimited is worth it. The facts about the service are in the Kindle Unlimited guide.
Common mistakes
- Reading with the small default font.
- Leaving the brightness at maximum.
- Not downloading books before a trip.
- Reading with notifications on.
- Buying an e-reader before knowing whether you read digitally.
In short
Large type, low brightness, downloaded books and silent notifications. With those four settings, the phone becomes a reader that is more than enough to begin with.
Frequently asked questions about the Kindle app
Can I read Kindle books without owning a Kindle?
Yes. The free Kindle app works on phones, tablets and computers.
Can I read the books offline?
Yes, once they are downloaded in the app.
Does reading on a phone strain the eyes?
Less so if you raise the font size, lower the brightness and use a sepia or dark background.
Does reading sync across devices?
Yes. The app saves your last page read and your highlights to your account.
When is it worth buying an e-ink reader?
If you read more than an hour a day, read in the sun or want to avoid the phone's distractions.
Is the Kindle app free?
Yes. You download it from your phone's store, use it with your Amazon account and need no Amazon device.
Which books can I read in the Kindle app?
Those bought in the Kindle store, Kindle Unlimited titles, free samples and public-domain classics.
What are Kindle free samples?
The first chapter of almost any book, to try before you buy.
What font size should I use to read on my phone?
Whatever lets you read without bringing the phone close to your face. More pages is not worse reading.
Which background colour is best for reading on a phone?
White by day, sepia for long sessions and black at night.
How should I set the brightness for reading on my phone?
Lower it inside the app. The screen should not be the brightest thing in the room.
Is it better to turn pages or scroll in the Kindle app?
It depends on habit. For reading one-handed on public transport, turning pages with your thumb is the most comfortable.
How does the Kindle app dictionary work?
Press and hold a word and its definition appears and, in books in another language, its translation.
Can I highlight in the Kindle app?
Yes. Drag your finger across a sentence to highlight it or add a note; everything is gathered in one section of the book.
Can I search for a word inside a Kindle book?
Yes. The search finds any word in the whole text.
How do I organise my Kindle library?
With collections, and by removing finished books from the device; they stay in your account.
How do I avoid distractions when reading on my phone?
By turning on focus mode or flight mode while you read.
Does reading on a phone use much battery?
Little compared with video or games, especially with low brightness and a dark background.
Does the Kindle app have accessibility options?
Yes: typefaces for better legibility, wider spacing between letters and lines, and compatibility with the phone's screen reader.
Can I read my own documents in the Kindle app?
Yes. You can send personal documents to your library; the sending options are in the app's help.
Sources and date checked
- Terms published by Amazon.es for Kindle Unlimited, checked in October 2026
The practical advice, examples and calculators are the work of Global Store Afiliados. Facts last checked: 10 October 2026. How we check the facts: editorial methodology.
Articles about Kindle Unlimited
- Kindle Unlimited
Is Kindle Unlimited worth it? How to know before you pay
A method to decide whether Kindle Unlimited pays off: how many books you read a month, whether they are in the catalogue and how to use the 30-day trial.
- Kindle Unlimited
Prime Reading or Kindle Unlimited: differences and choice
Prime Reading comes with Amazon Prime; Kindle Unlimited costs €9.99 a month. Differences in catalogue and price, and how to tell which one is enough.
- Wedding
How many gifts should you put on a wedding registry? Rule, table and examples
How many gifts to put on your wedding registry for your guest count, how to split them by price and which mistakes to avoid. With a table for 40 to 200 guests.