Motorola is caught in the middle of a bizarre affiliate-hijacking situation on its own phones. A pre-installed Motorola app has started rerouting the Amazon app through a third-party URL to inject an affiliate code. And it's happening even on the premium Razr Fold, which costs Rs 1.5 lakh.
Motorola's Smart Feed App Found Tapping Amazon App to Insert Affiliate Codes
This strange behaviour was first flagged by a Motorola Razr 60 Ultra user on the r/Android subreddit and then reported by 9to5Google. On a Motorola phone, when you tap the Amazon app icon from the app drawer, Chrome briefly flashes on screen, and the browser redirects you through an external URL before the Amazon app actually opens.
It happens pretty fast, and you might miss it if you are not paying attention. Importantly, this only happens when you launch Amazon from the app drawer. Opening it from the home screen works normally.
The Reddit user traced the redirect back to Motorola's Smart Feed app, which is pre-loaded on many Motorola phones. Network logs show the device pinging devicenative.com, a service that places ads on Motorola smartphones.
The publication verified that an older Smart Feed build (v2.03.0056) does not exhibit this behaviour while the newer v2.03.0070 on the Razr Fold does. It means the latest update has added this sketchy redirect.
Weirdly, the redirect URL is "kira-abboud.com", a domain that points to fashion influencer @kirasfashionfinds on Instagram. That said, 9to5Google found that the URL is not listed anywhere on the influencer's actual social accounts. In addition, "sramz-kff-008-20" is the Amazon affiliate code being injected, but it does not match any of the codes used by the influencer in her published links.
In simple terms, the redirect is channelling Amazon affiliate payouts to an influencer with no apparent link to Motorola, and the whole arrangement makes very little sense. Nevertheless, if you are on an affected Motorola phone, the fix is pretty straightforward. Head to Settings > Apps, search for Smart Feed and simply disable it. That's all.
