Warning to Amazon Fire Stick users over fears app could be ‘spying on them’
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Amazon Fire Stick users have been urged by cybersecurity experts to delete an app that’s secretly spying on them. The app, which Amazon has since removed, was available on the Amazon Appstore for Android devices like Amazon Fire tablets and Fire TV sticks.
![[Warning issued to Amazon Fire Stick users as app could be 'spying on them']](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234760588-6aa2.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=498)
But it likely remains installed on countless devices, with computer security software company McAfee calling on people to uninstall it. ‘BMI Calculation Vsn’, published by ‘PT Visionet Data Internasional,’ was promoted as a body mass index calculator tool.
![[Warning issued to Amazon Fire Stick users as app could be 'spying on them']](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234760596-243a-e1735814445564.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=404)
Opening the app brings people to a simple page where they can punch in their weight and height to figure out their BMI. But the so-called health application asks people if the app can record their screen the second users click the ‘calculate’ button.
![[Warning issued to Amazon Fire Stick users as app could be 'spying on them']](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234760589-7bef.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=274)
A pop-up message says: ‘BMI Calculation will have access to all your information that is visible on your screen or played from your device while recording or casting. ‘This includes information such as passwords, payment details, photos, messages and audio that you play.’.
![[Warning issued to Amazon Fire Stick users as app could be 'spying on them']](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234760515-0f66-e1735814687949.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=498)
McAfee, which discovered the malicious tool, said: ‘This functionality is likely to capture gesture passwords or sensitive data from other apps.’. Many users reflexively click these buttons without even reading the text in the dialogue box so they can use the app.
![[Warning issued to Amazon Fire Stick users as app could be 'spying on them']](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234760594-be61.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=480)
Once the user gives permission to the app, the malware gets to work snooping on what apps are installed so the scammer knows their victim. ‘It intercepts and collects all SMS messages received on the device, potentially to capture one-time password (OTP), verification codes and sensitive information,’ McAfee adds.
