Amazon launches a new crackdown on piracy apps for Fire TV Sticks

I think it’s fair to say that Amazon’s Fire TV Sticks have built up a reputation as an affordable, reliable, and easy way to watch streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video on your TV. But on the flip side, those same popular streaming sticks have also become notorious for being used to watch pirated content, largely thanks to Fire OS — Amazon’s Android-based TV operating system — and its support for app sideloading.

For many users, sideloading has become a popular way to access pirated content on Fire TV devices. And in late 2025, after facing mounting pressure to crack down on piracy, Amazon began taking action by blocking sideloaded apps “identified as providing access to pirated content.”

When Amazon first rolled out this move, apps identified as containing piracy could still be sideloaded and installed on Fire TV devices, but attempting to launch them triggered a warning message stating that the app had been disabled for “using or providing access to unlicensed content.” Users were left with just two options: uninstall the app, or keep it installed but permanently disabled and unable to be used. Unsurprisingly, some users quickly found workarounds to continue using these apps, including cloning apps and renaming installation files.

Fast-forward to 2026, and Amazon is now upping the ante in its fight against piracy. Instead of allowing piracy apps to be installed in the first place and then blocking them, the company is moving to shut them out at the door by preventing piracy apps from being installed on Fire TV devices altogether (via AFTV News).

Amazon is now blocking the installation of piracy apps

Stopping piracy apps is proving challenging for Amazon

Here’s how the new blocking mechanism works: if you try to sideload and install an app onto your Fire TV Stick that Amazon has flagged as part of its piracy block list, you’ll immediately be met with a pop-up that reads “App installation blocked.”

Before this change, those same apps could still be installed, but the moment you tried to open them, Amazon’s block hammer would come down and disable them. With this latest move, Amazon is now stopping flagged apps from being installed on Fire TV devices altogether.

While this might sound like a minor tweak — after all, the app is blocked either way — it actually shuts down one of the more common workarounds. Previously, users could circumvent Amazon’s block by cloning an installed app under a different name, which helped it slip past its app identification system. Now that the app can’t be installed in the first place, that trick no longer works, even if a user already has an app-cloning tool installed on their device. Because the blocked app isn’t installed, it can’t be cloned on the device.

There’s no doubt Amazon’s latest move here makes it harder to install and use pirated apps on Fire TV devices. That said, it doesn’t completely stop determined users, who can still clone apps on another device or download modified versions that haven’t been blocked yet. So while Amazon has clearly upped the ante in its fight against piracy, it still has a long way to go.

Vega OS puts an end to sideloading on Fire TV

The future of Vega OS isn’t clear yet

While it may be hard for Amazon to completely stop piracy apps from being sideloaded on Fire TV devices running Fire OS, it does have a new trick up its sleeve to stop sideloading altogether: Vega OS. Amazon’s new Linux-based operating system doesn’t support app sideloading, so the only apps you can use on the device are those from Amazon’s official app store.

The catch? Right now, the only device Amazon sells that runs Vega OS is the Fire TV Stick 4K Select. Every other Fire TV streaming device and Fire TV still runs Fire OS, which is Android-based and supports sideloading. This means that for the vast majority of Fire TV users, sideloading is still available.

For now, Amazon insists it’s a “multi-OS company” and plans to support both Vega OS and Fire OS into the future. But it’s hard not to see where this is heading. Amazon hasn’t officially confirmed any new devices, but it will likely release new streaming sticks at some point in the future, and I don’t think it would surprise anyone if those devices ditch Fire OS in favor of Vega OS to combat piracy.