One of the most popular and long-standing apps on the Amazon Appstore for Fire TV devices has suddenly vanished – and given everything Amazon has been doing lately to crack down on dodgy streaming apps, it’s easy to see why people are worried.
The app in question is Downloader, a free sideloading utility that’s been a staple of the Fire TV ecosystem for nearly a decade.
It hasn’t been blocked for anything sinister, though. The most likely culprit is a small technical change introduced in the app’s recent version 2.0 update – one that accidentally tripped an Amazon policy wire.
The app’s developer has already submitted a fix, and is hopeful that the app will be restored in the next few days.
But in the meantime, there are a few things worth knowing – including a warning about an impostor app that’s already moved in to fill the gap.
What Is Downloader?
For those unfamiliar, Downloader is a free app created by Elias Saba, who runs the well-known Amazon Fire TV enthusiast site AFTVnews.
It’s been available in the Amazon Appstore for years, and it does something simple but very useful: it lets you browse to a web address or enter a short code on your Fire TV, then download and install apps directly onto your device – including apps that aren’t available in the Amazon Appstore itself.
This process is called sideloading, and Downloader has long been the go-to tool for doing it on a Fire TV.
People use it for all sorts of legitimate reasons – installing Kodi (a popular free media player), getting apps that aren’t available in their region, or trying out apps still in development.
It’s a neutral utility, a bit like a basic web browser combined with a file manager. It doesn’t provide access to any content itself – it just helps you get apps onto your device.
It’s also completely free, and always has been. More on why that matters in a moment.
A Bit of Background: Amazon and Third-Party Apps
To understand why people are jumpy about…