Amazon Kills Fire Stick Sideloading on New Models, Cites Malware Risk

Amazon has ended sideloading support on its two newest Fire Stick models, which run a proprietary Linux-based operating system called Vega OS. The company says the move is intended to protect users from malware carried by apps that facilitate piracy.

In a recent interview with Cord Busters, Aidan Marcuss, Amazon's vice president of Fire TV, advertising, and Appstore, stated that "apps that facilitate piracy, and other apps, can carry malware." He added that there is "a good amount of evidence that apps can carry unwanted code and behavior on them when they're sideloaded." However, Marcuss did not provide specific examples of Fire Stick users being harmed by sideloaded apps.

The Security Argument and Its Limits

The company points to past incidents. In 2025, Amazon blacklisted four video streaming apps for malicious behavior, according to a report from AFTVnews. Two of those apps functioned as residential proxy providers, considered riskware, while the other two had APK files flagged by multiple antivirus tools. In 2018, a botnet that infected Android devices with cryptocurrency-mining malware appeared on some Fire Sticks, per discussions on XDA Forums. But these examples are not directly tied to widespread user harm, and Amazon has not released data showing that sideloaded apps caused significant damage to Fire Stick owners.

• New Vega OS is Linux-based, unlike the Android fork Fire OS used on previous models.
• Vega OS blocks custom launchers and third-party apps that bypass Amazon's home screen ads.
• Developers can still sideload apps onto Vega OS devices if they register them with Amazon.
• Amazon has a history of disabling apps that circumvent its ad-supported interface.

Critics See a Move to Lock Down the Platform

The change comes as Vega OS replaces the Android-based Fire OS on new models. Vega OS blocks custom launchers and other third-party apps that users previously employed to avoid Amazon's home screen ads and tracking. This is not the first time Amazon has restricted user choice; the company has a history of disabling apps that circumvent its ad-supported interface. Developers can still sideload onto Vega OS devices if they register them with Amazon, a requirement that gives the company oversight. The move has drawn criticism from users who value the flexibility of sideloading, with some arguing that security concerns are a pretext for greater control. As Amazon continues to roll out Vega OS to more devices, the debate over openness versus security in streaming hardware is likely to intensify.