Amazon Blames Piracy Apps With Malware For Killing New Fire Stick Sideloading (arstechnica.com)
- Reference: 0184220704
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/06/30/2149243/amazon-blames-piracy-apps-with-malware-for-killing-new-fire-stick-sideloading
- Source link: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/exec-blames-malware-threat-for-amazon-blocking-sideloading-on-new-fire-sticks/
> Amazon has released two Fire Stick models that use its proprietary, Linux-based operating system, Vega OS. Previous Fire Sticks ran Fire OS, which is an Android fork based on the Android Open Source Project. One of the biggest differences between Vega OS and Fire OS is that the former doesn't support sideloading. [...] In a recent interview, Or Goren, editor-in-chief of Cord Busters, a UK-based streaming news outlet, noted the negative reaction to Vega being a closed OS. [Aidan Marcuss, VP of Fire TV, advertising, and Appstore] responded, per the publication, by saying that Vega OS was Amazon's opportunity to "innovate and deliver more capabilities, even on the least expensive devices."
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> He also said that making a platform around security and privacy was "sort of utmost in my mind." The statement is somewhat ironic, considering Vega OS blocks custom launchers and other third-party apps that helped users avoid Amazon tracking and ads. Goren asked whether Amazon had evidence that sideloaded devices caused users harm. "Apps that facilitate piracy, and other apps, can carry malware," Marcuss responded. Marcuss also said that there is "a good amount of evidence that apps can carry unwanted code and behavior on them when they're sideloaded."
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> Marcuss didn't provide specific examples of Fire Stick users being hurt by sideloaded apps. There are some potential examples, though. In 2025, Amazon [3]claimed to blacklist (which blocked the apps from being sideloaded to Fire Sticks) four video streaming apps for malicious behavior. At the time, AFTVnews reported that two of the apps served as residential proxy providers and were [4]considered riskware , and that the other two had APK files that were [5]flagged by virus-scanning tools . Safari and Chrome also flagged one of the apps' official websites, the publication reported. And in 2018, a botnet that infected Android devices with cryptocurrency-mining malware [6]appeared on some Fire Sticks, per discussion on [7]XDA Forums . That said, Amazon also has a history of disabling apps that let users circumnavigate its home screen that Fire devices, including Fire Sticks and Fire TVs, have increasingly used for ads.
Worth noting: developers can continue sideloading apps onto Vega OS devices if they register them with Amazon.
[1] https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/26/04/17/180203/amazons-new-fire-tv-sticks-no-longer-support-sideloading
[2] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/exec-blames-malware-threat-for-amazon-blocking-sideloading-on-new-fire-sticks/
[3] https://www.androidauthority.com/amazon-fire-tv-apps-blocked-promoting-piracy-3571777/
[4] https://www.aftvnews.com/additional-streaming-piracy-apps-blocked-by-amazon-on-fire-tv-devices/
[5] https://www.aftvnews.com/additional-streaming-piracy-apps-blocked-by-amazon-on-fire-tv-devices/
[6] https://www.aftvnews.com/android-malware-worm-that-mines-cryptocurrency-is-infecting-amazon-fire-tv-and-fire-tv-stick-devices/
[7] https://xdaforums.com/t/malware-virus-solution-inside-firestick-gen-2-test-app-keeps-popping-up.3771601/
Uh huh... (Score:2)
Just trying to keep people safe. Nothing to do with lock-in, rent seeking, control over everything you watch, or mass surveillance. Not about any of that AT ALL!
Re: (Score:2)
For decades now I would have whole-heartedly agreed with your scathing sarcasm. But today the clueless script kiddies are bolstered by AI. I think a bit of caution is laudable for a year or three until we get a handle on the wave of zero-days. Your point still stands; they did this because of the points you make; that doesn't invalidate the stated protectional purpose as well.
Re: Uh huh... (Score:2)
Not sure what other people have to do with us losing our freedoms
Amazon cares about your security (Score:4, Insightful)
Amazon cares about your security. Which is why their next step will be to also remove fraudulent, dangerous or IP infringing products from amazon.com. Right?
Bloated, laggy, non-intuitive interfaces (Score:4, Interesting)
Even with no sideloaded apps and just a few of the standard streaming apps installed, every Fire TV device I've used suffers from a laggy interface, surely due to the advertising bloat that they integrated into their home screen a few years back. In my experience, the lag is there even with preview autoplay disabled. And even if you minimize the lag by shelling out for their "top end" devices, the home screen interface is simply terrible for navigating to your installed apps.
The only thing that made dealing with the above worthwhile was the fact that you could sideload apps, like RetroArch and Kodi, to make the device more useful than your average Smart TV device, like a Roku or AppleTV. With sideloading gone, I can safely say I'll never buy an Fire TV device again.
Hey Amazon! (Score:2)
I already have a mommy. I don't need another one.
Blame those same apps... (Score:2)
For me not buying one then also. ;-D
Firestick = pirate device with no skills required. (Score:3)
Mostly about piracy, I'd bet.
For years, people who know nothing about torrents or other methods of downloading content would just buy a "firestick'. People have been selling them loaded with apps to stream pirate content, cracked apps, etc. I'm sure Amazon wasn't happy being associated with that.
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed. The question is why now?
Setup a media server (Score:2)
The only thing I ever used a FireStick for was to connect to my media server with an App Store approved app when I traveled and used hotels.Worst case scenario, I could jack in the FireStick to HDMI and connect the power cable to a USB port. It beats using a tablet or a phone to watch content on a small screen. The more modern tech savvy hotels you can just stream via AirPlay or Chromecast to the TV from a smartphone.
The side-loaded pirate streaming apps are what the newbs use who don't know any better.
Sadl
Fine, try to block it (Score:2)
But a computer I can't load my own code on is no longer a general purpose computer - it's a walled-garden appliance and I'm not going to buy it.
Re: (Score:2)
Yur mom would be more surprised about that antiquated Firestick browser than the content in it.