Overview
- A Tuesday Reddit report and follow-up tests showed some Motorola phones briefly opened a browser and routed Amazon app launches through a tracking URL that appended an Amazon affiliate code.
- Motorola acknowledged the behavior on Wednesday, called it “unintended,” and said it corrected the Smart Feed routing configuration tied to a Device Native app-launch experience.
- Network logs traced the redirects to devicenative.com and a transient visit to a site referencing influencer Kira Abboud, but the affiliate codes observed did not match the influencer’s public links.
- Disabling the preinstalled Smart Feed app stops the redirects immediately, and reproductions were inconsistent across models and regions, with most reports coming from U.S. Razr devices.
- Key questions remain about who received any affiliate commissions and why Device Native removed its public developer documentation, highlighting broader risks from preinstalled ad SDKs on phones.