Motorola has confirmed it has ended a behaviour in which devices “hijack” the Amazon app to inject affiliate data. Strange, I know.
Essentially, it was reported earlier this week that Motorola’s recently updated Smart Feed app had started hijacking the Amazon app, redirecting it to a web tracking link before opening the actual app. This link also contained an affiliate code loosely tied to a fashion influencer. This all happened if you opened the Amazon app through the app drawer.
The company has now confirmed that it was “unintended” and was not an intentional change. It has now been corrected. The company has seemingly not acknowledged why its devices were redirecting traffic to a fake website for a fashion influencer.
To add some context, Motorola shared in statements to both 9to5Google and Android Authority that it had teamed up with ad company Device Native to create an “app search and suggestion experience” for the Moto App launcher, designed to quickly find and launch apps users have installed on their devices.
Interestingly, 9to5Google pointed out that while Motorola has acknowledged its integration with Device Native, the ad company has seemingly removed not only documentation related to the Motorola integration, but also all of its public-facing developer documentation.
As noted in the press release, this seemed to be a US-only issue and largely affected Razr Fold devices. I’m near Toronto, didn’t seem to notice it on my Moto G Stylus.
Source: 9to5Google, Android Authority
