Motorola phones are intercepting Amazon links and quietly redirecting them through a third-party server before appending an affiliate code — a practice that generates revenue for an undisclosed party without user knowledge or consent.
The behavior, first reported by Android Police, affects users who tap Amazon links on their devices. Instead of routing directly to Amazon, the link passes through an external URL that attaches an affiliate tracking code, which earns a commission on any resulting purchase.
How Affiliate Hijacking Works
Affiliate codes are identifiers embedded in URLs that attribute a sale to a referring party. When a shopper clicks a tagged link and completes a purchase, Amazon pays the referring party a percentage of the transaction.
In standard practice, a retailer or publisher discloses this arrangement to users. Motorola has not publicly acknowledged the behavior described in the Android Police report.
What Was Found
Researchers found that Motorola’s system intercepts links before the browser or shopping app processes them. The link first hits a third-party intermediary domain, which appends the affiliate tag, then forwards the user to Amazon.
The end destination looks normal to the user. The redirect completes fast enough that most users would not notice it occurred.
At the time of publication, Motorola had not identified which entity receives the affiliate commission or whether the practice is disclosed anywhere in its terms of service.
The Broader Context
Device manufacturers have a documented history of bundling revenue-generating software with consumer hardware. Carrier-loaded bloatware — pre-installed apps that generate advertising or referral income — has drawn regulatory and consumer scrutiny for years.
Affiliate link injection is a distinct practice. It requires the device or an installed service to actively modify a URL the user intends to follow, rerouting it through a monetization layer the user did not choose.
Security researchers classify unsanctioned link modification as a form of adware behavior, depending on its implementation and disclosure status.
Motorola is owned by Lenovo, which acquired the mobile brand from Google in 2014 for approximately $2.91 billion, according to Reuters. Lenovo has positioned Motorola as a value and mid-range competitor in markets including the United States, Latin America, and India.
The alleged affiliate scheme draws attention in part because Motorola markets several devices at premium price points, where consumers expect clean software with no hidden monetization layers.
Samsung and Google, two of Motorola’s primary Android competitors, do not employ affiliate link injection as part of their default device software, based on current available reporting.
The Federal Trade Commission requires clear disclosure of affiliate relationships in the United States. Whether undisclosed device-level affiliate redirection violates FTC guidelines has not been publicly tested in enforcement proceedings.
