AMAZON is making a big change to how Fire Sticks work – and it’ll put a stop to illegal streaming.
The tech giant has been facing pressure to restrict how its popular TV gadgets function with so-called “dodgy” modified Fire Sticks a common favourite for illegally watching premium football and movies on the cheap.
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Sky bosses have even pointed the finger at Amazon by suggesting the firm doesn’t do enough to prevent piracy.
“There are football fans who literally have shirts printed with ‘dodgy boxes and fire sticks’ on them,” Nick Herm, chief operating officer at Sky said earlier this year.
It now appears Amazon is taking steps to crackdown hard on the problem.
The online retailer recently released a brand new Fire Stick with some key changes in the background.
Instead of running on the open Android operating system, it relies on a new in-house alternative called Vega.
And by design Vega can’t run sideloaded apps – the technique used by illegal streaming operators to load Fire Sticks with dodgy apps.
This means the apps that were built based on Android simply won’t work on the new Fire Sticks.
And they won’t be able to build new ones that work on Vega either.
“For enhanced security, only apps from the Amazon Appstore on Fire TV are available for download,” Amazon said.
This will only apply to the new model, the Fire TV Stick 4K Select – for now.
But it does give an indication of the course Amazon is taking with the future of the Fire Stick.
In other words, Fire Sticks built on Android are on their way out and future models will surely come with Vega, spelling the end for illegal streaming apps.
RISKS FROM ILLEGAL STREAMING AND DOWNLOADS
People streaming content illegally are at risk of fraud and other dangers when using dodgy TV devices.
But that’s not the only possible consequence.
They can slow down your broadband connection and affect other gadgets around your home too.
“Illegal streaming isn’t just unsafe, it’s actively harmful,” said Liz Bales, CEO of the British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE), and The Industry Trust for IP.
“Devices used for piracy are often infected with hidden malware, leading to crashing apps, severely disrupted performance, and compromised home networks.
“This puts personal data and entire households at risk.”
Image credit: Getty
