Amazon will block piracy apps on Fire TV soon, warn users about usage first
Amazon Fire TV devices, at least those based on Android, support the sideloading of apps. While that requires a bit of tinkering, it allows users to install apps on the device that are not listed in the Amazon App Store. One of my favorite apps for the Fire TV is SmartTube, a YouTube frontend that does away with ads and tracking on the streaming site.
Starting today, Amazon plans to introduce a blocklist for apps on its platform, according to Heise Online. The blocklist is reportedly maintained by the anti-piracy organization ACE (Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment). The organization's members include Amazon, BBC Studios, The Walt Disney Company, Netflix, Paramount Global and others.
The details:
- Amazon plans to notify users of apps that are on the blocklist initially to inform them that these apps should not be used.
- The blocking will take place in a second stage, but it is not clear yet when it will begin.
Amazon Fire TV users who run an app starting today will receive notifications when they do. The apps continue to work for now, but this will only be temporary. Neither Amazon nor ACE have published a list of applications that are on the list. It is unclear, therefore, which and how many apps are on the blocklist.
Fire TV users may continue to install applications via sideloading, including on Amazon's new operating system Vega OS, which is based on Linux and not on Android.
Amazon disabled certain apps remotely on Fire TV devices in the past
While the blocklist approach to blocking certain apps from running on Fire TV devices appears to be an expansion of previous efforts, Amazon did reportedly disable certain sideloaded apps remotely on Fire TV devices in the past already.
A Torrentfreak report from June 2025 suggests that Amazon did block two piracy apps on Fire TV devices in that month. Users of the apps got an "app disabled" prompt when they attempted to launch the apps on their devices. The only two options provided at the time were to keep the app or uninstall it. The option to "run anyway" was not provided, and selecting keep meant that the app remained installed but could not be run on the device.
It is likely that the new blocklist approach will show similar options to users, once an app that is on the list is launched on a Fire TV device.
Now You: Do you use a Fire TV device for entertainment or have another favorite? What is your take on the upcoming change? Feel free to leave a comment down below.
They’re borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. On the one hand making it harder to stream illegal content makes it more necessary to invest in a streaming platform like Prime, which they promote ad nauseum on Firestick. On the other hand it makes Fire devices like Fire TV, Firestick and Amazon Fire tablets far less attractive. I think that most people who are tech savvy enough to install and operate streaming software are also savvy enough to know that there’s good alternatives to Fire devices at comparable prices. Personally I’m tired of Amazon telling me what I can do with the device I paid for. My next one will have an amlogic soc and a generic android os.
Make no mistake, this is not about piracy…it is about greed. It is about trying to increase sales of Amazon Prime and their 30 subscription services. Piracy laws differ from country to country. For example, in Canada, it is illegal to download pirated content, but it not illegal to stream them. So if streaming is not illegal there, than why would Amazon block it?
Imagine other companies controlling your usage of the devices you bought from them. Guess we’ll be getting away from Amazon Fire and back to others or android boxes.
I feel once I buy the device it’s mine to do with whatever I want, I’m not leasing it. If Amazon doesn’t want non Amazon apps on the device, then stop selling them, and start leasing them with restrictions, like car dealerships do.
The comments here are the reason why this can be done by companies like Amazon and gotten away from. It’s not about finding alternate ways to pirate, it’s about a principal that you, as the owner of the device, should have the final word on what is allowed to run on YOUR device!
Disclaimer: I am not a Fire TV user. Have never used them and never will.
It’s all about price and choice.
If I buy a device for $20 I know it is not its real price. The company makes money from selling apps and ads, not from device sale. I would expect that device to be locked up and never really owned by me. I wish that would be disclosed by the manufacturer, but we do not live in that Universe.
But if I buy a device for $200 I expect the company to make profit just from the device and have all options unlocked. If options are blocked at this price, I would never buy that device. I would look for something else. Freedom has a price and requires some brain.
I do not excuse most companies’ greed, I just try to accept reality. And reality is if you want freedom, you need to spend more than minimum, do research and do not follow the crowd. More of surviving mode than taking last stand like you.
It’s not about expectation either. It’s about what explicitly is in the sales contract, which must comply with current laws on property rights. It’s about property rights. If you represent it as a sale, all rights must pass to the new owner. Retaining control on a device in any way is not a legitimate sale. That it has been abused for decades now has all to do with political corruption.
Your price = expectation model is wholly vacuous .
In your mind, buying food or other products during a Black Friday sale means that the food is all rotten–past their sell-by date and the other products are used or obsolete only.
I think they are over-stepping the privacy and rights. They should not have rights to invade your privacy, especially if they are checking your device which they shouldn’t anyways and blocking or whatever else they do. They should not intrude or be monitoring your device period. There should be a class action against these people for doing this! I hope someone starts a lawsuit against them. As it is… we should do anything we want in our house and on any of our devices or PCs. It’s ok for them to draw the line… but they won’t let us draw our line or keep crossing lines previously set in place for our privacy rights. I surely hope someone sues them soon. They need to create other ways to combat privacy and stay out of our lives and off our devices. We have rights… they should be observing them!
Of course, they are overstepping. Of course, they are on the wrong way. But the advertising money is so great, the only way to persuade them to back down is total boycott. And I do not see it happening. Lawsuits are not going to work. Cost of paying off privacy lawsuits already build in their business model. Ask car manufacturers and phone service providers. They already paid those lawsuits and still doing the same thing.
Or just use streaming websites for TV, movies, anime and cartoons. They don’t have to be paid.
Stop being lazy! Just get a computer, connect it to your TV and download all your favorite films using one of the many excellent protocols available. I’ve been doing it for 22 years.
Just cast video from a website on your computer. I do not have piracy apps on streaming boxes. They constantly break and difficult to install. Too much maintenance. Maybe there are some that are much better, but I do not know those apps.