Amazon Fire TV Stick gets a free update, but you might not like what it does

Amazon’s Fire TV Stick is one of the most popular streaming devices, an affordable accessory you can use to upgrade your television and make sure you have access to all the apps and services that you want.

In fact, we rate the Fire TV Stick 4K Max as the best streaming stick out there, but we also acknowledge that it leans heavily towards Amazon’s content. If that’s a concern for you, then this latest update might not be too popular.

A recent update to the Fire TV devices has removed the option to hide certain apps from view. Previously, you could hit the menu button when on an app and in the list of options you could move, get more info, uninstall (in some cases) and hide.

The latter is particularly useful if there’s an app that’s pre-installed that you can’t uninstall, but you don’t want in your list. For example, as pointed out by aftvnews.com, if you want to hide the Freevee app now that it’s being discontinued, you can’t.

It also means you have more apps cluttering up your view. Previously, each profile on the Fire TV device would be able to hide apps, allowing for greater personalisation, but now if an app is installed by any user, every user will see that app. That means if the kids use Twitch but you don’t, you can’t hide it from your own view, so you have to navigate around it when using your Fire TV.

I’ve confirmed this to be the case on the Panasonic Z95A, while the original source says that it’s confirmed on a first-gen Fire TV Stick 4K, as well as the latest Fire TV Stick 4K Max, so it’s likely to come to all devices that run Fire OS as they get updated.

Fire OS has been criticised for adverts in recent years, as well as for pushing content or services that need a subscription. For some, this is a reason to choose a streaming device like the Roku Streaming Stick 4K, which offers similar performance, but with a simpler interface that basically just provides quick access to apps.

Amazon’s devices do have advantages though: with Alexa searching for content, as well as offering all the normal Alexa services, the Fire OS experience is one that’s well connected. It also has access to Xbox cloud gaming, meaning it offers plenty when you’re looking to upgrade your TV.