If you use a Fire TV device by Amazon, then you know that you may install third-party Android apps on the device that are not provided via Amazon’s official App Store. This is an excellent option to install apps that you may want to use, like streaming apps or YouTube frontend clients that get rid of all the annoyances.
However, Amazon announced this year that it is going to disable certain apps on the Fire TV devices of customers without giving customers any say in the matter.
Amazon claims that it only disables apps “that are identified as using or providing access to unlicensed content”. In other words, Amazon targets apps that provide users with free access to streaming content that is restricted in some way or another.
A prime example are apps that give you access to sports streams that are not available for free. Amazon has a FAQ-website up that answers some questions that customers may have. It covers topics such as refunds (not really) to exceptions (none).
Put simple, Amazon will disable any application that it has on its list, which it keeps private. Customers should receive warnings next time they try to load an app that is on the list. The only options at this point are to close the app or to uninstall it.
Will this also affect frontends for services that get rid of advertisement? It is too early to say and even if that is not the case right now, the infrastructure is in place to add any app to the block list at any time.
Now You: do you use a streaming device or stick, like the Fire TV sticks? If so, did you install third-party apps on the device that are not offered via the official store?
The only way to support and propagate this type of behavior is with money.
There are only three top streaming platforms, Amazon Fire, Google TV and Roku. Now only Google TV allows sideloaded apps. Not a lot of choice.
Are any open source streaming boxes?