Amazon Fire Stick: why can’t you hide apps on Fire TV? Update explained

• Amazon Fire TV stick’s latest update has removed a popular feature.
• Users are discovering they can no longer hide apps.
• It means your homepage may start to look more cluttered.

Amazon has rolled out a new update to its Fire TV sticks - and it removes a popular feature. Users have discovered that you can no longer hide apps that aren’t being used.

It means when you fire up (pun not intended) your Amazon streaming stick, you might find your homepage is more cluttered than it has been. The change comes as part of the latest update to the device’s software.

Amazon Fire TV comes pre-installed with a number of apps - that you may not regularly use. And if you’ve downloaded ones that are now defunct, you will be stuck with them.

Listen now on Screen Babble: Don't miss our ultimate Oscars guide - and The Traitors

What has been removed from Amazon Fire Sticks?

In the latest update to the Fire TV sticks, spotted by AFTV News, the ability to hide apps has been removed. The devices come loaded with certain apps that cannot be deleted - Prime Video, Fire TV Channels, and Amazon Live Shopping.

The feature thus allowed you to hide them on your homepage, so they aren’t cluttering it up. But it has now been removed, meaning that you can no longer hide unwanted apps.

AFTV News adds: “Both the older 1st-gen Fire TV Stick 4K, running Fire OS 6, and the current 2nd-gen Fire TV Stick Max, which uses the latest Fire OS 8.”

What is a Fire TV stick - and what are the laws about using them?

A Fire TV stick is Amazon’s portable streaming device, which can be plugged into a TV and let you collect Netflix, Disney Plus and other apps all in one place. Prices start at £39.99.

If you have heard about so-called ‘dodgy’ Fire sticks and wonder what the deal is. We have more for you to dive into here.

But basically, they are “jail-broken” and are installed with apps that are not intended to be downloadable on the app. If you use these to watch pirated material - such as live sports - you could find yourself in hot water with the authorities.

A crackdown on these devices took place in late 2024, with police targeting a list of postcode areas across the country. Find out more about that here.

If you are only watching on demand TV shows and movies - like for example on Netflix - you also don’t need to worry about paying the licence fee. But if you watch live tele, or use BBC iPlayer then you need to pay up.

What do you think about Amazon removing the ability to hide apps on Fire TV sticks? Let me know by email: [email protected].