A number of capital households have an Amazon Fire Stick in their home that they stream a number of subscription channels from for cosy family nights in.
The cheap and cheerful dongles allow us to tuck into services such as Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ amongst many others. But many users also tap into the Fire TV devices for their option of downloading unofficial apps that are not on the traditional Amazon app store.
A lot of the additional content however is not always legal to watch and that has led to Amazon saying that they are trying to crack down on this naughty practice. Spotted by AFTnews, warning messages are beginning to spring up on users screens that caution the dangers of using unofficial software on their device.
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A screenshot posted by AFTnews shows the message which reads, "WARNING: When you use applications from unknown sources, your TV and personal data are less secure and there is a risk of unexpected behaviour. You agree that you are solely responsible for any damage to your device or loss of data that may result from using these applications."
Although the warning has popped up on Fire Stick screens, it is understood that Amazon are not halting access to unofficial apps but they are saying that their alert should be taken seriously. They say that using the software to watch content without permission comes with consequences, the Daily Express reports.
Recently it was reported that UK police had begun to chap on the doors of thousands of citizens to caution them about streaming shows and movies outside the proper protocols. Amazon warns that using non-official channels can pose a threat as users' data may be stolen through malware and that inappropriate pornography may appear on their TVs which could distress young people.
A recent study which analysed 50 illegal streaming sites discovered that every last one of them contained malicious content. While 40 per cent did not hold a security certificate which meant that they probably were not safe to visit.
They hope that the new warning will make people think twice when adding software to their device. But this is not the only change coming to Fire Sticks.
A recent update has also stopped some users from being able to change the buttons of their remotes. Those wanting to tweak what each button does, have been able to make changes thanks to a neat Remapper app which offers the ability to switch things to suit your viewing tastes.
An upgrade pushed out to the Fire TV Stick 4K Max is now blocking the functionality of the Remapper which means it no longer works.
In a post on AFTnews, its creator Elias Saba explained that, "Amazon has pushed out a software update to select Fire TV devices that prevents customers from remapping the app shortcut buttons at the bottom of Fire TV remotes."
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