Users of Motorola phones that come preinstalled with software bloatware named Smart Feed have discovered that the service is hijacking links to shopping apps, such as Amazon, and placing in affiliate links. That means when a product is purchased via that hijacked link, someone is making money and it’s not the device owner.
This is shady behavior. Thankfully, it was spotted by an eagle-eyed user, then confirmed via network logs.
What’s Happening: When someone opens a shopping app, like Amazon, that action is interrupted and a browser app opens quickly, then redirects to Amazon. It’s that opening of the browser where the affiliate link is inserted. As shown in the logs, the requests are sent to devicenative.com, a website for a service that puts ads on smartphones
Thanks to more digging on the part of 9to5Google, another URL the phone opens is kira-abboud.com. This site apparently references a fashion influencer, but none of the affiliate codes align with what the influencer has listed on their accounts and websites. The influencer also appears to have no direct ties to Motorola. Basically, it’s somewhat of a mystery as to where the affiliate money is going.
How to Turn Off Smart Feed: As Motorola phone users, the first thing you’ll want to do is disable this. Thankfully, that process is simple. Head to Settings > Apps > Smart Feed > Disable.
While most on reddit and other online communities seem to think this is Motorola’s fault, the root of the issue appears to be this Smart Feed bloatware and it’s possible that the service has been infiltrated by a bad actor looking to score some easy cash. We expect Motorola to have a statement on this developing story soon.
UPDATE MAY 27: Motorola provided a statement on the situation and said they have “corrected” the unintended behavior that was the injection of affiliate links–
Motorola and Device Native jointly developed an app search and suggestion experience for the Moto App Launcher, designed to help users quickly find and launch apps they already have installed on their devices.
Recently, Motorola acted quickly to resolve an issue that was identified, which caused some users in the U.S. launching the Amazon Shopping app to be routed through a web tracking link before opening the app. This behavior was unintended and resulted in an inconsistent user experience.
Upon identifying the issue, we promptly corrected the routing configuration. Users can now expect all installed apps to launch directly as intended.
Motorola takes user experience, privacy, and platform integrity seriously and will continue to closely monitor the system to ensure expected behavior across devices.
We are committed to responsible disclosure, and to transparent, collaborative engagement with researchers to identify and address potential issues swiftly.
// reddit | 9to5Google
