Amazon Fire TV devices, at least those based on Android, support sideloading apps. Although it requires slight changes, it allows users to install apps on the device that are not listed in the Amazon App Store. One of my favorite apps for Fire TV is SmartTube, which is a YouTube frontend that eliminates ads and tracking on the streaming site.
Starting today, Amazon plans to introduce a blocklist for apps on its platform heise onlineThe blocklist is reportedly maintained by anti-piracy organization ACE (Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment). Members of the organization include Amazon, BBC Studios, The Walt Disney Company, Netflix, Paramount Global and others.
Description:
- Amazon plans to initially notify users of apps that are on the blocklist and inform them that these apps should not be used.
- The blockchain will take place in the second phase, but it is not yet clear when it will start.
Amazon Fire TV users who run the app starting today will receive notifications when they do so. Apps will still work, but it will only be temporary. Neither Amazon nor ACE have published a list of the applications that are on the list. Therefore, it is not clear which and how many apps are on the blocklist.
Fire TV users can continue to install applications via sideloading, including Amazon’s new operating system Vega OS, which is based not on Android but on Linux.
Amazon has remotely disabled some apps on Fire TV devices in the past
While the blocklist approach appears to be an extension of previous efforts to block certain apps from running on Fire TV devices, Amazon reportedly already remotely disabled some sideloaded apps on Fire TV devices.
A torrentfreak report June 2025 shows that Amazon blocked two piracy apps on Fire TV devices that month. When users of the apps tried to launch the apps on their devices they received an “App disabled” prompt. The only two options given at that 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’s likely that the new blocklist approach will show users the same options once the apps on the list are launched on a Fire TV device.
Now You: Do you use the Fire TV device for entertainment or have another favorite device? What is your opinion on the upcoming changes? Feel free to leave a comment below.
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