Is Motorola hijacking the Amazon app on your phone?
What's the story
Motorola is facing a major controversy as users have accused the company of hijacking the Amazon app to inject affiliate codes. The issue was first reported by a Reddit user who observed that their Motorola Razr 60 Ultra opened a browser window with an unusual URL before redirecting back to Amazon. The problem appears to be linked to a hidden system app called Smart Feed, which seems to intercept attempts at opening Amazon on Motorola phones.
App interception
How the hijacking works
When a user opens Amazon from the app drawer, Motorola's software intercepts the action, briefly flashing the Google Chrome browser and routing through devicenative.com. 9to5Google confirmed this behavior on its own Razr Fold unit. However, it only happens when opening Amazon from the app drawer and not from a homescreen shortcut, making it less noticeable for users.
Link routing
Redirects to 'kira-abboud.com' before reaching Amazon
The 9to5Google report also claimed that Motorola phones have been redirecting users through a site called "kira-abboud.com" before taking them to Amazon. This site is reportedly associated with fashion influencer "@kirasfashionfinds." However, the specific affiliate code injected by the Motorola smartphone did not match any codes actually promoted on the influencer's social media channels.
Steps
How to stop the redirects
The report also noted that phones running older versions of the Smart Feed app were not affected by this issue, indicating it may have been introduced with a recent update. As of now, Motorola has not officially commented on the controversy. However, users can stop the redirects by disabling the Smart Feed app on their devices via Settings > Apps > Smart Feed > Disable.