Amazon BANS popular Fire Stick app ‘used to get around illegal streaming block’ as TV piracy crackdown escalates
AMAZON appears to have ramped up illegal streaming restrictions on Fire Sticks by blocking a popular loophole.
The tech giant is taking a much tougher approach to prevent rampant illegal streams on so-called “dodgy” Fire Sticks that have been modified to provide cheap access to Premier League games and premium movies.
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Amazon has started showing pop warnings on illegal streaming appsCredit: Alamy
People using such apps have started seeing warning popups on their screens.
It’s expected that blacklisted apps will gradually be banned, meaning they won’t load if you attempt to open them.
As a result some determined users have turned to an app that gets around any restrictions.
It’s known as App Cloner and allows you to “create and install multiple copies” of apps and “safeguards your privacy and identity”.
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The tool essentially allows you to rename apps in the background so Amazon won’t pick up on them from their blacklist.
While App Cloner itself isn’t illegal, it does appear to be used by those looking to illegally stream.
“Just used an app that unblocks apps that Amazon have blocked it’s called app cloner,” one user wrote on a forum just a few days ago.
The app was downloadable within Amazon’s own Appstore but it has quietly disappeared.
Amazon’s download page for App Cloner now comes up with an error, which usually means the app has been withdrawn.
“Piracy is illegal, and we’ve always worked to block it from our Appstore,” an Amazon spokesperson told The Sun.
“Through an expanded program led by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a global coalition fighting digital piracy, we’ll now block apps identified as providing access to pirated content.
“Including those downloaded from outside our Appstore.
“This builds on our ongoing efforts to support creators and protect customers, as piracy can also expose users to malware, viruses, and fraud..”
Apps detected as allowing piracy are automatically blocked from operating on Fire Sticks.
WHY HAS AMAZON BLOCKED ILLEGAL STREAMING ON FIRE STICKS?
Here’s what tech industry expert Paolo Pescatore, of PP Foresight, thinks…
“Bottom line, it was about time, and it is the right thing to do,” he told The Sun.
“There’s much more the industry can do as a whole.
“More and more people are streaming illegally, and in many cases, they think the services are genuine.
“Sports is typically the genre that generates the most attention, given the escalating costs.
“With moves towards direct-to-consumer services online, the issue will only proliferate.
“Everyone has to do their part to address this problem, which is costing the industry a lot of money.”
Affected Fire Stick owners will be notified and given the option to uninstall the offending apps.
It’s worth noting that Fire Sticks that were used for piracy can still be used for regular legal TV streaming – it’s just illegal services that are now blocked.
