The FTC fined Amazon $25 million for keeping children's voice recordings after parents asked them deleted. Fire Kids tablets ship with Alexa built in — the same Alexa the FTC found violated COPPA. Amazon sells a tablet specifically for children, preloaded with software that was fined for illegally retaining children's data. That is the product design. Amazon sells a tablet for $60 and puts ads on the lockscreen. Pay $20 to remove them. Pre-installed Amazon apps cannot be deleted. No Google Play Store — only Amazon's app store. The tablet is cheap because you are the product. Every tap, every search, every video feeds Amazon's profile of you. The discount is the data collection fee.
What they claim: Amazon Fire Tablet promoted as affordable tablet for families
What we found: Fire Tablets display full-screen advertisements on the lockscreen by default ("Special Offers"). Users must pay an additional $20 to remove lockscreen ads. The tablet runs Fire OS, a forked version of Android that eliminates Google Play Store and locks users into Amazon's ecosystem. Pre-installed Amazon apps cannot be removed. The device is subsidised by advertising and data collection.
What they claim: Amazon describes Fire tablet data collection as necessary for personalised experience
What we found: Fire OS sends detailed usage telemetry to Amazon servers including every app opened, every search query, reading habits on Kindle, viewing habits on Prime Video, and browsing history through the Silk browser. Combined with Amazon shopping data, this creates the most comprehensive consumer behaviour profile available from a single device manufacturer.
What they claim: Amazon Fire Kids tablet promoted as safe for children with parental controls
What we found: The FTC fined Amazon $25 million in 2023 for violating COPPA through Alexa's data retention of children's voice recordings and personal information. Fire Kids tablets include Alexa, connecting children to the same data infrastructure that the FTC found violated children's privacy. Amazon retained children's voice recordings even after parents requested deletion.