9 Best DRM Removal Tools for Different Media Files

Tired of digital rights management (DRM) restrictions limiting how you use your legally purchased movies, music, eBooks, and other media? DRM removal tools can help you bypass those pesky limitations and fully enjoy the content you own across all your devices.

In this post, we'll cover nine of the best DRM removal utilities for stripping away protection from various media file types. While using these tools to circumvent DRM may violate some terms of service, they offer a way to regain control over content that's rightfully yours. Just be sure to only remove DRM from media you legitimately own.

Whether you want to transfer purchased videos to any device, create eBook backups, or free your music library from DRM chains, these top tools have you covered. Read on to find the perfect DRM removal solution tailored to your needs.

What Is DRM and DeDRM

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. It refers to various technologies used by content creators and publishers to control and restrict how digital content can be accessed and used by consumers. The primary purpose of DRM is to prevent unauthorized copying, distribution, and modification of copyrighted works, including videos, music, ebooks, documents, games, software, etc.

DeDRM, on the other hand, refers to the process of removing or circumventing the DRM restrictions imposed on digital content. This can be done through various software tools and techniques, often with the aim of allowing users to access and use the content in ways that may be restricted by the DRM measures.

Important: The legality of deDRM can be a gray area, as it may involve circumventing copyright protection measures, which could be considered a violation of copyright laws in some jurisdictions. So we do not advocate copying authorized or protected media files for unfairl use. However, there are situations where deDRM may be considered legal, such as for personal backups, format shifting, or accessibility purposes.

With that context in mind, let's proceed with the review of several DRM removal software for various types of media files.

Best DRM Removal Software for Videos

DRM technologies used for video content include proprietary solutions like ARccOS (Sony), X-Project (Disney), FairPlay (Apple), PlayReady (Microsoft), Widevine (Google), and Marlin (Intertrust), as well as open standards like CENC (Common Encryption) and MPEG-DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP). There might not be one tool to cope with all of them, but you can choose the one according to your specific media content and DRM schemes. Below are the top 3 DRM removers for DVDs, offline videos, and online streaming videos.

VideoProc Converter AI

Best for: removing DRM from DVDs and some online videos & music.

Compatible OS: Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7, Mac.

VideoProc Converter AI is a powerful video processing tool packed with a wide array of features. When it comes to DRM removal, it can digitize DVDs protected by Disney X-Project, Sony ARccOS, CSS, RCE, UOP, APS, region codes, etc., and make them playable and editable across devices and platforms. Plus, its built-in downloader can save videos, lives, and music from 1000+ websites without authorized accounts. As for online videos and music protected by strict DRM technologies, you can use its built-in recorder to capture whatever you want.

Excellent

Pros:

• Quick DVD DRM removal without degrading the original quality.
• Free to download videos and music from 10+ sites and paid to download from 1000+ sites.
• Support 420+ formats and 100+ presets for TV, iPhone, iPad, Android, SNS…
• Intuitive interface and simple enough for users with varying degrees of technical expertise.
• Free professional tech support and regular updates to handle new DRM schemes.
• All-in-one: convert, quick-edit, AI enhance, compress, record, and download.

Cons:

• It cannot bypass Apple FairPlay DRM protection directly.

How to Use VideoProc Converter AI to Remove DRM

Step 1. Download and install VideoProc Converter AI on your computer.

Step 2. Launch VideoProc Converter AI. Click "DVD" > "Disc" to import the DVD video inserted into your computer. Then it will detect and read your disc automatically.

Step 3. Open "Target Format" to choose the output format, MP4, MKV, or choose the preset for TV, game console, iPhone, tablet, etc. Also, you can choose Backup to make a digital copy without DRM. If necessary, you can open the Edit option to cut, trim, add/remove subtitles, etc.

Step 4. Select an output folder and click "RUN" to export. Finally, you'll get a DVD video without DRM and play it easily.

Tips: Open "Downloader" on VideoProc Converter AI main interface, and you can download videos and music via URLs. Open "Recorder" on the main interface, and you can record movies, music, and lives that cannot be downloaded due to DRM protection.

DRmare M4V Converter

Best for: decrypting protected M4V movies and TV shows.

Compatible OS: Windows, Mac.

M4V videos are encrypted to prevent distribution, causing inconvenience for users who legally purchase them and want to watch on more devices. DRmare M4V Converter is a tool to remove these restrictions legally, allowing users to keep and play M4V videos on multiple devices. It supports various input/output video and audio formats and preset profiles for different scenarios, including lossless MP4, M4V, HMPEG, MOV, MKV, AVI, and more. You can also customize the video parameters such as codec, bit rate, frame rate, etc. to optimize the output videos.

Pros:

• Simple and intuitive to use.
• Compatible with old and low-end computers.
• Allow converting videos in bulk.
• Support many popular output formats.

Cons:

• More expensive than other DRM removers.

MovPilot Video Downloader

AI art models: DALL-E mini

Best for: bypassing DRM of streaming videos

Compatible OS: Windows, Mac

MovPilot Video Downloader is a reliable tool for removing DRM from videos for easy offline playback. It can download videos from various platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and HBO to popular formats, ensuring ad-free and smooth playback. The DRM removal technology used in this program is advanced and efficient, providing a high success rate for removing DRM from TV show episodes, movies, and more. It offers an immersive offline viewing experience with full HD 1080P resolution, the best audio quality, and preservation options for original multi-language subtitles.

Pros:

• Support 1080p and Dolby Atoms.
• Offer multi-language subtitles and soundtracks.
• High speed and high success rate of DRM decryption.

Cons:

• Very limited features in its free version.
• Cannot remove DRM from offline videos.

Best DRM Removal Tools for iTunes and Apple Music

When it comes to iTunes movies and Apple Music, Apple uses its own DRM system, FairPlay, to prevent unauthorized copying and distribution. Make sure you legally own the content and only remove DRM for personal use before checking these de-DRM tools.

DearMob iPhone Manager

Best for: removing DRM from purchased iTunes music.

Compatible OS: Windows and Mac.

DearMob iPhone Manager provides a great feature that enables you to remove DRM protection from iTunes Music as well as e-books. This allows you to permanently retain your music albums, singles, and audiobooks. Moreover, it can remove DRM protection in bulk and keep the original quality, tracks, and subtitles. After decryption, it also lets you transfer files between your iPhone and your computer seamlessly.

Pros:

• Remove DRM from purchased iTunes Music in one click.
• Faster batch decryption than other tools.
• Manager, convert, and transfer media files in one stop.

Cons:

• Cannot bypass DRM without purchasing in iTunes and Apple Music.

Requiem

Best for: decrypting DRM from iTunes movies and music.

Compatible OS: Windows, Mac, Linux.

Requiem is a free tool for removing iTunes DRM. It can remove Apple's DRM FairPlay from songs, videos, and books purchased on the iTunes Store. It uses the same method as iTunes to crack DRM from audio and video files. It authenticates with the DRM library using secret iTunes credentials and then decrypts all the audio and video data using the library's decrypt routines. This allows Requiem to maintain the original lossless quality of the output files when removing DRM.

However, legal issues with FairPlay DRM led Requiem to lose to Apple in late 2012 post iTunes 11 release. The developer stated Requiem 4.1 is the last release with no updates. To remove iTunes DRM using Requiem, you need to downgrade to version 10.7 or earlier.

Pros:

• Completely free to remove DRM from iTunes movies and music.
• It can make iTunes M4V videos playable across devices.
• It's easy and intuitive for both beginners and pros.

Cons:

• It stopped updating over a decade ago.
• It does not run on the latest macOS.
• It cannot bypass the DRM of rented iTunes videos.

Ondesoft iTunes Converter

Best for: bypassing DRM protection from iTunes/Apple Music songs.

Compatible OS: Mac.

Ondesoft iTunes is a professional audio converter for Mac. It can remove iTunes DRM and convert DRM-protected iTunes music and audiobooks to MP3 and AAC files quickly. It can also extract audio from iTunes movies and TV shows and convert them to unprotected formats like AAC, AC3, AIFF, FLAC, and more. Additionally, it can convert iTunes DRM M4P to MP3 and M4A for playback on mobile devices like Samsung, LG, Google, HTC, and more.

Pros:

• It can convert iTunes videos to audio files.
• A full set of iTunes audio management features.
• Simple and lightweight.

Cons:

• It does not work on Windows.
• It cannot remove DRM from iTunes videos or movies.

Best DRM Removal Tools for E-Books and Documents

Also, there are certain legitimate use cases where e-book DRM removal may be necessary, such as making personal backups, enabling accessibility features, or using the content on different devices. For those situations, several tools have emerged that can strip DRM protections from e-books and documents. Check them now.

Calibre

Best for: removing DRM from purchased e-books.

Compatible OS: Windows, Mac, Linux.

Calibre is an essential tool for e-book enthusiasts, offering professional-grade e-book conversion and free DRM removal. It allows you to convert e-books from various formats and remove DRM protection from most sorts of ebooks. But note that Calibre needs a special plugin to work with DRM removal. It's called Alf's DeDRM Plugin which removes DRM from ebooks like Kindle, Kobo, and Adobe DRM. You can download it from GitHub. In addition, this powerful tool is popular among avid readers for organizing and accessing digital libraries.

Pros:

• Totally free to remove DRM from ebooks.
• Support over 50 e-book formats.

Cons:

• Complicated to use for novices.
• Only works for e-books that you've bought officially.

Epubor Ultimate

Best for: cracking DRM protection of e-books.

Compatible OS: Windows 11/10, Mac

Epubor Ultimate is a famous e-book converter and DRM remover that supports almost all types of e-books in the market. With this program, you can easily decrypt books from Amazon Kindle, Adobe Adept (including Kobo, Sony, and Google eBooks), Barnes & Noble, Mobipocket, and eReader eBooks.

Pros:

• Simple to use for beginners.
• Clear and intuitive interface to manage and look up e-books.
• Convert e-books to any format you need.

Cons:

• Cannot free DRM-ed books from iBook.

ePUBee

Best for: removing DRM from AZW, AZW3, MOBI, PDF, etc.

Compatible OS: Windows.

ePub DRM Removal is a free tool to free e-books from Adobe ebook ADEPT DRM protection. It can create a new file without DRM limitation for ePub/PDF that can only be opened in Adobe digital editions. Additionally, it can convert eBooks to .mobi format and PDF format for Kindle e-reader and printing Digital Edition ebooks.

Pros:

• Free DRM removal for EPUB e-books and PDFs.
• Keep the original format and quality.
• Make a backup while decrypting e-books.

Cons:

• No responsive support team.
• Cannot remove DRM from iBook.