Amazon Is Removing Lock Screen Ads From Its Prime Exclusive Android Phones

Amazon has announced that it will be removing lock screen ads from Prime Exclusive Android phones. The company removed the lock screen ads to better adapt with new smartphone technologies that’s changing the way people use their phones.

For the uninitiated, Amazon Prime Exclusive phones provide the best way to buy smartphones at a discounted price. In exchange, the phone’s lock screen includes ads and other promotions from Amazon. Starting today however, all Prime Exclusive phones will ship to customers without any lock screen ads.

“As smartphone technology has evolved, we also want to evolve the Prime Exclusive Phone experience to ensure customers can easily use features such as the phone’s mobile unlock technologies like facial recognition and fingerprint sensors, as well as be able to personalize device lockscreens with photos or wallpapers,” Amazon said in a statement, according to Android Police. “Customers who currently use a Prime Exclusive Phone will receive a free update starting this week with this change, which will remove the lockscreen offers and ads.”

Although it seems like Amazon is doing this to adapt to new smartphone technologies, there’s probably a better reason for the change. Amazon may be removing lock screen ads to comply with Google’s new monetization rules. Google announced back in December that it was banning developers from adding lock screen ads, unless it’s exclusively part of an app.

Although lock screen ads will be removed, Amazon’s preinstalled apps will stay. This will include the Prime Video and Prime Music apps, and the Amazon Widget, which will still be able to display ads and offers from the company, as pointed out by The Verge.

Amazon says that Prime Exclusive phones will continue to be offered for Prime members at discounted prices, but customers should expect a $20 price increase on all devices. That may annoy some customers, but at least they will still be able to save a lot of money compared to buying unlocked phones from anywhere else.

“We are excited to continue offering discounted prices on certain unlocked Android phones, paired with easy access to Prime benefits for Prime members. While we will still offer a discount off of the list price, we will increase the price of every current Prime Exclusive Phone in the portfolio by $20,” Amazon said in a statement sent to Android Authority.

“Previously, customers received low prices on Prime Exclusive Phones supported by lockscreen offers and ads. With this change, existing Prime Exclusive Phone customers will have the offers & ads removed for no additional charge. The $20 price adjustment will be applied to new Prime Exclusive Phone purchases, which will still include a discount off of the list price available exclusively for Prime members.”