Motorola has confirmed it corrected an issue where its Smart Feed software redirected Amazon Shopping app launches through a web tracking link. The company described the behavior as unintended and stated that the problem has been resolved.
Background and Discovery
Users of Motorola phones with preinstalled Smart Feed software reported that the service intercepted links to shopping applications, including Amazon. According to user observations, when opening a shopping app, a browser window would briefly appear before the app loaded. Network logs showed that during this process, requests were sent to devicenative.com, a service that delivers advertisements on smartphones.
Further investigation by 9to5Google identified another URL, kira-abboud.com, which referenced a fashion influencer. The affiliate codes used in the redirect did not match the influencer's listed accounts. The influencer has no known direct ties to Motorola, and the recipient of any affiliate revenue was not determined.
Affected Functionality
The routing issue affected users in the United States launching the Amazon Shopping app specifically from the Moto App Launcher. Motorola stated the behavior was linked to a collaboration with Device Native for an app search and suggestion feature.
Company Response and Resolution
Motorola issued the following statement regarding the incident:
"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."
The company confirmed that the routing configuration was promptly corrected and that applications now launch directly as intended. 9to5Google verified that the behavior was no longer reproducible on a Motorola Razr Fold running the same Smart Feed app version.
Additional Notes
- Device Native removed its public-facing developer documentation following the disclosure, not solely the Motorola integration.
- Motorola did not address the specific mechanism involving the redirect through the kira-abboud.com URL.
- Users may disable Smart Feed via Settings > Apps > Smart Feed > Disable.