Amazon’s Android app store will be discontinued on August 20 of this year. The company notified developers that they will no longer be able to submit new apps to the marketplace.
According to a support page, the company will also end its Coins digital currency. Users could use Coins to buy games and apps from the App Store. “Starting August 20, 2025, you will no longer be able to access the Amazon Appstore on your Android device.” “We will also discontinue the Amazon Coins program on August 20, 2025,” the company stated on its help page.
As a result, Amazon announced that it will return any coins that users have on August 20. According to the company, only a small percentage of users used the app store on non-Amazon devices. A company spokesperson said that Amazon decided to discontinue the Android Appstore to focus on the Appstore experience on its own devices. The company said that most of its customers use the Appstore on those devices.
The company also stated that the Appstore will continue to work on its own devices, such as Fire TV and Fire Tablet.
The Amazon App Store Had Malware
Last year, McAfee Labs detected a malicious Android spyware program called “BMI Calculation Vsn” on the Amazon Appstore. The app looked like a basic health tool. However, it collected data from infected devices in the background.
McAfee alerted Amazon about the app. Amazon then removed the application from the store. However, people who installed the program must manually uninstall it. They should also run a complete scan to remove any remaining threats.
The Amazon Appstore is a third-party Android software store. Amazon pre-installs it on Fire tablets and Fire TV devices. It also serves as an alternative to Google Play for Android users who cannot use Google’s platform.
The store also includes exclusive Amazon Prime games and entertainment. The “BMI Calculation Vsn” spyware app came from PT Visionet Data Internasional. The company marketed it as a simple body mass index (BMI) calculator.
The Decision Seemed Odd
Shutting down Android support seems odd because Amazon’s own Fire OS uses Android as its foundation. However, the Amazon Appstore has played a small role in the Android market for years.
The store once allowed users to “test drive” Android apps in web browsers. Amazon also ran a program that offered free app versions. The Appstore also came preloaded on Amazon’s unsuccessful Fire phone.
Users can still sideload the Amazon Appstore onto some third-party Android devices. Amazon initially grew this audience. However, the store has struggled to compete with Google’s Android market dominance in recent years.
The Epic v. Google case also highlighted Amazon’s position in the Android app market. Epic used the store’s limited reach to support its arguments about Google’s Play Store.
Amazon later tried to make sideloading easier by hiding the option in the Amazon app. Google eventually closed that loophole.
To End
The Amazon App Store never became a strong competitor to the Google Play Store. Amazon now appears ready to abandon the Android version and redirect its resources elsewhere.
