Popular mobile manufacturing brand Motorola is in the middle of a serious controversy right now. The smartphone brand, known for its popular Razr foldables and budget-friendly Moto G series, has been accused of secretly intercepting Amazon app launches on its phones to insert affiliate tracking codes. What that means in simple terms is that every time a Motorola user opens the Amazon app and makes a purchase, Motorola could quietly earn a commission from it, without the user knowing anything about it.
How Was This Discovered
The issue was first reported by a Reddit user who observed that their Motorola Razr 60 Ultra opened a browser window with an unusual URL before redirecting back to Amazon. Something most people would never even notice because it happens in a blink. This curious user decided to dig deeper. Using ADB, which stands for Android Debug Bridge, a developer tool used to inspect what an Android device is doing behind the scenes, the logs showed that the launcher was directing users to a URL instead of directly opening the Amazon app.
Once the Reddit post picked up attention, tech publication 9to5Google ran its own tests. They verified the behaviour on a Razr Fold running Smart Feed app version 2.03.0070, which showed the redirect. An older version, 2.03.0056, on a Razr 2026 did not show this behaviour, confirming that the latest update introduced the hijacking.
What Is the Smart Feed App
The culprit is Smart Feed, a Motorola system app that has shipped on recent devices including the Razr 2026 lineup. After the recent update, tapping the Amazon icon from the app drawer no longer opens Amazon directly. Instead, the phone briefly loads a redirect URL that injects an affiliate tracking code before bouncing the user into the Amazon app.
It only triggers when you open Amazon from the app drawer, not from a homescreen shortcut. Most people would never notice. That is exactly what makes this so troubling. It is designed to be invisible.
The Strange Fashion Influencer Connection
Here is where things get even more confusing. The 9to5Google report found that Motorola phones were redirecting users through a site called kira-abboud.com before taking them to Amazon. This site is reportedly associated with fashion influencer @kirasfashionfinds. However, the specific affiliate code injected by the Motorola smartphone did not match any codes actually promoted on the influencer’s social media channels.
This raises the possibility that the code is being impersonated or spoofed rather than legitimately associated with the influencer. It could also be that the Smart Feed app has been compromised, leading to this behaviour. Nobody has a clean answer yet.
What Motorola Has Said
Motorola has not responded publicly to the accusations. For a company that has been building strong momentum with its 2026 device lineup, the silence is making things worse.
How to Protect Yourself Right Now
The good news is there is a simple fix. Users cannot uninstall Smart Feed through normal means since it is a system app, but the fix is straightforward. Open Settings, go to Apps, search for Smart Feed, and tap Disable. Disabling it immediately stops the redirect behaviour and does not affect anything else on the phone.
This is reminiscent of the scandal previously faced by Honey, PayPal’s Chrome extension, which was accused of similar affiliate code manipulation. The difference here is that this is not a browser extension a user chose to install. It is a pre-loaded system app on a phone people paid good money for, operating in the background without any disclosure or opt-in. That is what has users genuinely angry, and rightly so.
Syed Ziyauddin is a media and international relations enthusiast with a strong academic and professional foundation. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media from Jamia Millia Islamia and a Master’s in International Relations (West Asia) from the same institution.
He has work with organizations like ANN Media, TV9 Bharatvarsh, NDTV and Centre for Discourse, Fusion, and Analysis (CDFA) his core interest includes Tech, Auto and global affairs.
Tweets @ZiyaIbnHameed
