Motorola has responded to recent complaints from users who noticed something unusual when opening the Amazon Shopping app on their phones. Instead of launching the app directly, some devices briefly opened a browser window and routed users through a tracking link before finally landing in Amazon.
The issue gained attention earlier this week after users, including owners of premium devices like the Motorola Razr 60 Ultra, reported the unexpected behavior. Researchers who looked into it found that Motorola’s pre-installed Smart Feed app appeared to be intercepting app launches and redirecting them through affiliate links.
According to reports, the redirects included affiliate tracking codes that could potentially generate commissions from purchases. Network analysis also linked the behavior to domains associated with Motorola’s advertising and content recommendation partners.
The discovery raised eyebrows for a couple of reasons. For one, users were not expecting a shopping app launch to pass through a browser first. It was also happening on expensive flagship devices, which made the situation even more surprising.
Motorola has now acknowledged the issue and says it has already been fixed.
In a statement shared with Android Authority, the company described the behavior as “unintended” and said it was caused by a routing configuration issue within the Smart Feed app. Motorola says the configuration has since been corrected and apps should now open normally without being routed through tracking links.
The company added that it “takes user experience, privacy, and platform integrity seriously,” and that it will “continue to closely monitor the system to ensure expected behavior across devices.”
What Motorola has not fully explained, however, is how the affiliate-link behavior ended up in the software in the first place. While the company insists the redirects were unintentional, some users have questioned why app launches were being routed through affiliate infrastructure at all.
The issue appears to be linked to a recent Smart Feed update and was primarily reported by users in the United States, though it is not entirely clear how widespread the behavior was.
For users who remain concerned, Smart Feed can be disabled through the phone’s app settings.
- Open your phone’s Settings
- Tap on Apps (or Apps & Notifications)
- Tap on See all apps and locate Smart Feed
- Tap Disable
The incident also serves as another reminder that pre-installed software can sometimes do more behind the scenes than most users realize. At least for now, Motorola says the problem has been resolved. Whether that explanation satisfies users is likely a different question.
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