Amazon says it is blocking apps that allow users to illegally stream content on its Fire TV Stick, according to reporting by The Athletic. The clampdown will apply to new and old devices and it’s already begun in France and Germany, with a global rollout set for the next weeks and months.
The Fire TV Stick, and similar plug-in streaming devices made by other companies, have long been associated with pirated content, specifically sports. Unauthorized third-party apps can be “side-loaded” onto devices and offer users access to illegal streaming platforms at lower prices than legal sports providers.
But a device-level ban of piracy apps will render useless hacks attempting to skirt location-specific bans with a VPN, Tech Radar reported.
The move to ban apps identified with piracy landed weeks after Amazon launched the Fire TV Stick 4K Select, which runs on Linux instead of the easily-modified Android software used on previous TV streaming hardware. The latest streaming stick, the company told The Athletic, includes beefed up security measures and limits app downloads to only apps in the Amazon app store.
The Athletic reported a statement from Amazon via an unnamed spokesperson: “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.”
Roughly nine percent of adults in the UK have illegally streamed sports in 2025, according to a six month survey that ended in October. That’s around 4.7 million people, and is roughly 200,000 people more than the poll conducted two years ago. The survey was conducted by market research company YouGov Sport and commissioned by The Athletic.
Fire Sticks, the catchall term that includes Amazon streaming sticks, is the second most common way that UK adults consume pirated sports streams, according to the YouGov survey. Unauthorized websites ranked first with 42 percent of respondents citing it as the most common way to watch sports illegally, compared to 31 percent of respondents who ranked plug-in devices.
