Motorola phones may be quietly skimming Amazon affiliate cash

Motorola could be facing some awkward questions after users spotted a strange issue involving the Amazon app on certain Moto phones.

According to reports from Reddit and 9to5Google, some Motorola devices appear to briefly open a browser with an affiliate-tracked Amazon link whenever users launch the Amazon shopping app. The redirect happens so quickly that most people probably wouldn’t notice it.

The issue seems tied to Motorola’s pre-installed Smart Feed app, specifically version 2.03.0070. Users who dug into web traffic activity reportedly found requests linked to an ad-related company called devicenative.com. Additionally, the redirects themselves pointed to unusual affiliate URLs before eventually landing inside Amazon.

In practice, this could mean purchases made through the Amazon app are being routed through an affiliate code first, potentially generating commission revenue in the background.

What makes this more concerning is that the behaviour doesn’t appear to affect every Motorola device equally. Some phones running the latest Smart Feed version reportedly trigger the redirects, while others do not.

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For instance, one report claims the issue appeared on the Razr 60 Ultra and Razr Fold, but it did not appear on a Moto G Stylus 2026 using the same Smart Feed build.

There’s also still some uncertainty around what’s actually happening behind the scenes. While it could simply be an aggressive affiliate implementation, there’s also the possibility that a third-party component inside Smart Feed has been compromised or is behaving unexpectedly.

Either way, it’s not a great look, especially on premium phones that already cost flagship-level money.

So far, Motorola hasn’t publicly explained the behaviour, but reports say people have contacted the company for clarification. Until then, some users recommend disabling Smart Feed entirely if they notice Amazon opening unexpectedly on their device.

The whole thing feels especially messy because it happens silently. Affiliate links themselves aren’t unusual on the web, but injecting them into app launches without users knowing crosses into murkier territory pretty quickly.

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