After luring customers with low prices, Amazon stuffs Fire TVs with ads

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Smart TVs and streaming dongles are increasingly being sold cheaply and then packed with ads, with Amazon’s Fire TV cited as a prominent example of a device whose interface is dominated by promotions and tracking. Commenters describe a wider trend of “enshittified” TV platforms from Samsung, Google TV, Roku and others, where manufacturers rely on surveillance and advertising revenue rather than hardware margins. Many report resorting to workarounds — from sideloaded apps and alternative launchers to Apple TV, “dumb” displays, HTPCs, and network-level blocking — and some argue only regulation will curb the incentives that drive this model.

Fire TV experience and workarounds

  • Many find Fire TV’s home screen “ad carousel” intrusive, even for paying Prime users.
  • Core value for some is cheap hardware plus sideloading: third‑party YouTube clients (e.g., with SponsorBlock), Steam streaming, Kodi, Jellyfin, VLC, etc.
  • Alternative launchers (e.g., FLauncher) can hide or replace Amazon’s UI, but setup is non‑trivial and sometimes brittle.
  • Some Fire TV devices and apps won’t start or behave oddly when offline, though there are UI tricks to bypass the “no internet” home screen.

Smart TV ads are widespread, not just Amazon

  • Samsung, LG, Sony/Google TV, TCL/Roku, Vizio, and Chromecast with Google TV are all reported to show prominent ads or “promoted content” in their UIs.
  • Some users argue Apple TV has the least-bad experience: limited self‑promotion in specific areas, configurable home button, and generally no third‑party ads on the main grid. Others note Apple still promotes its own content and data flows via standard analytics.
  • Some LG and Google TVs offer “basic” or “apps‑only” modes, but these can disable useful features or still expose ads.

Privacy, tracking, and targeted ads

  • Concern that TVs and streaming boxes function as ad/telemetry platforms: tracking viewing habits, inserting targeted ads (e.g., Amazon Freevee, PlutoTV), blending ad‑supported content into “included” results.
  • Some see targeted ads as marginally better than generic ones; others argue they mainly optimize extraction of value from users, not user benefit.
  • There is anxiety about future connectivity via cellular radios or mesh networks (e.g., Sidewalk‑like systems), bypassing home network controls.

Technical countermeasures and their limits

  • Users try DNS blocking (Pi‑hole, firewall redirect), VLAN isolation, blocking CDNs, or freezing firmware to inhibit updates/ads.
  • Newer devices may use DNS‑over‑HTTPS, internal resolvers, or tunnels, complicating blocking.
  • Rooting or replacing the OS is possible on some hardware but often complex and fragile.

Alternatives and broader reactions

  • Strategies: never connect TVs to the internet; use them as dumb displays with Apple TV, HTPC, or small PCs; buy “dumb” consumer sets (e.g., Sceptre) or commercial signage displays.
  • Some accept ads as the price of cheap hardware; others are frustrated enough to pirate or avoid platforms entirely.
  • Several argue only regulation can curb surveillance and ad creep, as average consumers cannot realistically defend themselves.