And as a preview of what is to come, has begun to preventively block the manual installation of apps on current devicespreventing certain APK files from even reaching the system.

Now, when you try to manually install an app that Amazon considers to be associated with piracy or unlicensed content, the process is interrupted with a message: “App installation blocked”.

It is important to mention that the file or app is not copied to the device, so it does not appear among your installed apps, it simply does not enter the system and is permanently blocked.

How Amazon has escalated restrictions

The blocking has evolved in three phases, where initially, many users saw warning messages when opening reported applications, but the software continued to work.

Subsequently, the installation was completed, but when trying to open the app the system automatically closed it with a full screen lock. But now, Amazon has taken the definitive step by preventing the installation from the first second.

When the system detects that you are trying to install an APK from its blacklist, it interrupts the process and redirects to a support page where it explains that there are no exceptions or workarounds.

And the blocking works by identifying the package namethe unique identifier that each Android application has. Amazon maintains a list of blocked packages that the system checks before allowing any manual installation.

Therefore, if the identifier matches one on the blacklist, the process stops automatically. This method allows you to remotely update which apps you block without having to update your Fire TV system.

That is, simply add new identifiers to the server list so that all connected devices apply the restrictions immediately on any Fire OS computer.

The battle against cloning tools

Until recently, the most advanced users evaded blocks using cloning tools available in the Amazon store itself and through a very simple procedure for them.

This consisted of installing the blocked app and using another application to modify its internal identifier, causing the system to not recognize it as prohibited.

Amazon removed these tools from its official store and the new preventive block completely breaks this chain. If the original app never reaches the device, you can’t clone or modify it locally.

Very experienced users can still modify APKs before installation or download pre-modified versions from external repositories, but this makes the process complex and beyond the reach of all users.

VegaOS: the definitive closure of the ecosystem

VegaOS is the proprietary operating system that Amazon is deploying to replace Fire OS, which until now was based on Android. So it is not a layer on top of Android or a modified version of Google TV.

It is a system built from scratch on a Linux kernel, without Google services and with full control for Amazon. The Fire TV Stick 4K Select is the first device to debut it, and reports confirm what was anticipated.

And VegaOS completely blocks the sideloading. Android APK files do not work in this new system due to incompatibility. You will only be able to install approved apps on the Amazon App Store.

The current blocks are the clearest example, since the company is training the user to rely exclusively on its official store before its new system eliminates the possibility of installing external software.

When the migration is complete on all devices, sideloading will be completely gone from the Fire TV ecosystem. And at that moment, is when we will say goodbye to installing pirated apps and their clones.