Content Amazon has confirmed it will block all apps used for pirate TV on Fire TV devices, including sideloaded applications downloaded outside its official app store, with the global rollout beginning in Germany and France before expanding worldwide “in the coming weeks and months.”

“Piracy is illegal, and we’ve always worked to block it from our app store. We’ll now block apps identified as providing access to pirated content, including those downloaded from outside our app store. This builds on our ongoing efforts to support creators and protect customers, as piracy can also expose users to malware, viruses, and fraud,” Amazon told The Athletic.

The blocking applies to apps providing pirated movies, series, sports, and other content.

Fire TV has been widely used for pirated content globally.

Third parties sell cheap Fire TV sticks on social media as “fully loaded” with illegal apps preinstalled.

In the UK, more than 30% of all pirate streams originate from Fire TV devices, according to The Athletic.

First signs of the shift emerged in June 2025.

In the same month, analysis firm Enders Analysis issued a report describing Fire TV as a “facilitator for piracy,” criticising Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.

Pressure on Amazon has mounted in recent years.

“Jailbroken” devices pose security risks.

“Once you connect an untrusted IPTV box to your home network, you should assume anything you type into it could be harvested, and that the device may try to observe other traffic on your network,” Miguel Fornes, cybersecurity expert at Surfshark, wrote.

“Many of these devices run heavily modified versions of Android with security controls stripped out so pirated apps can run. From a security perspective, that’s a red flag.”

Fire TV devices historically ran on the open version of Android (AOSP), but Amazon has begun transitioning Fire TV to its own VegaOS.

VegaOS does not allow sideloading.

However, the blocking of pirate apps applies regardless of whether a Fire TV device runs VegaOS or Android, Amazon emphasised.

This leaves Google TV as the only major TV platform still allowing pirate apps via sideloading.

In August 2025, Google announced plans to partially block sideloading, while the EU continues pressuring Apple to allow it.

In 2017, Amazon joined other Hollywood studios and tech companies in founding the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), which now has more than 50 members.

In 2024, the industry group announced it would intensify anti-piracy efforts and start blocking illegal services.

Fire TV devices are widely available in Australia, with the Fire TV Stick 4K Max priced at $69 during recent sales.