Is this the Honey scandal all over again? Motorola phones caught adding affiliate codes to Amazon orders

Date:
Tue, 26 May 2026 11:02:02 +0000

Description:
Your Motorola phone might be hijacking the Amazon app to add affiliate codes, but the weird circumstances surrounding this situation suggest it might not have been intended.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Motorola's Smart Feed app appears to be adding affiliate codes to purchases through the Amazon app This means Motorola, or whoever the code is linked to, would get a kickback for your purchases But there's evidence that this behavior might not have been intended Something very strange and sketchy seems to be happening on some Motorola phones, as devices appear to have been caught adding affiliate codes to orders placed through the Amazon app.

The behavior was first spotted by a Reddit user with a Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) , with Motorolas pre-installed Smart Feed app appearing to be the culprit. 9to5Google has since replicated the behavior using a Razr Fold , and the site also claims that this oddity doesnt happen on older versions of Motorolas Smart Feed app, so it has only started with the latest update. It also didnt occur when 9to5Google used a Moto G Stylus (2026) running the latest version of Smart Feed, so seemingly, only certain phones are affected. Latest Videos From You may like The best Motorola phones 2026 I tried Googles handy new AI wardrobe feature with Motorolas Razr Some Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultras are being hijacked after a factory reset, with no clear fix

But its troubling behavior regardless, as this basically means that any time you order something from the Amazon app, Motorola will quietly get an affiliate fee, despite having nothing to do with you placing the order.

Oddly, this seems to only happen if you open the Amazon app from the app drawer, rather than from its home screen icon, but you can see evidence of it happening because the Chrome browser will flash up for a split second to inject the affiliate link.

You can see this happening in 9to5Googles video below, which first shows the Amazon app being opened from the home screen and then from the app drawer. Motorola Smart Feed hijacking Amazon app - YouTube Watch On This is reminiscent of the scandal previously faced by Honey PayPals Chrome
extension that promised to automatically apply the best discount codes to online purchases, but which would also attach its own referral links to the purchase to get a kickback, even removing other referral links that you might have attempted to use. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
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us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. It gets weirder But in Motorolas case, things appear weirder than the company simply trying to take a cut of your Amazon purchases,
because 9to5Google also found that the Chrome site that flashes up when you launch Amazon is kira-abboud.com, which seems to be a reference to fashion influencer Kira Abboud.

But why on Earth would Motorola use an affiliate link tied to a fashion influencer? And on top of that, the actual affiliate code thats generated doesnt appear to match up with any that have been shared by Abboud. So it may well be that this wasnt an intentional act by either Motorola or Abboud.

Regardless, Motorola users understandably arent happy, taking to Reddit to
say things like this is really sketchy and describing this quirk as outright malware.

Hopefully, Motorola will clear things up soon, but in the meantime, you can disable Smart Feed to prevent this behavior. To do so, head to Settings > Apps, then search for Smart Feed and tap Disable. Today's best Motorola phone deals Motorola Razr 2025 $699.99 $499.99 View See all prices Motorola Edge 2025 $549.99 $399.99 View See all prices Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 $1,499.99 View See all prices We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/motorola-phones/is-this-the-honey-scandal-all -over-again-motorola-phones-caught-adding-affiliate-codes-to-amazon-orders


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