The Amazon Fire TV Stick range remains some of the most popular streaming devices on the planet thanks to their cheap price, neat design and instant access to endless content. Millions now have them plugged into their televisions but it seems a recent update from Amazon has left some seriously annoyed. As spotted by the eagle-eyed team at AFTVnews, the latest software upgrade released by the Fire OS team seems to have removed a much-loved option. Until recently, all Fire TV Stick owners were offered the ability to 'Hide Apps" from the homescreen - that meant applications that can't be deleted such as Prime Video and Freevee could be made to disappear. It was also handy for keeping certain streaming services or unsuitable games hidden from younger members of the family.
Whether you used it or not, it was a nice option but it's suddenly gone missing from certain devices including the premium Fire TV Stick Max and 1st-gen Fire TV Stick 4K. Even if those streamers aren't the ones you own, bad news could be on its way with AFTVnews speculating that more Fire TV Sticks will get this update in the coming weeks. Explaining more, AFTVnews team said: "The removal of the option to hide apps has been confirmed on 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, so it’s likely that this change will be applied to all Fire TV models.".
It might seem like a minor update, but users have been left pretty frustrated by the changes. Speaking on a Reddit post, one Fire TV Stick owner asked, "Hey everyone, I’m on a Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen) and just noticed the option to hide apps has disappeared with the latest update.". In response, another fan said, "Yeah, I've been trying to get them off too, but you can't now, which sucks.". One user even threatened to leave the platform, saying, "It makes Fire Sticks officially a deal breaker. If I am unable to get rid of the useless Amazon bloatware icons, I am done with Fire Sticks.".
