The Prime Photos app on the Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick has been updated with a new option that allows customers to disable the app altogether. As you would expect, disabling the app prevents it from being launched. More importantly though, and likely the main reason for adding this new option, disabling the app also prevents it from storing photos and videos from your Amazon Drive onto the Fire TV or Fire TV Sticks internal storage. This allows customers who don’t use the Photos app to reclaim the precious internal storage space that the app normally uses.
The new Prime Photos app is being released through a system app update. This means only the one app is being updated and not the entire operating system of the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. There will be no indication that the update arrives, other than the new option to disable the app appearing in the Fire TV’s settings menu. You can check if you have the new version by going to Settings > Applications and scrolling down to see if you have version FOS-5 801027110 of the Prime Photos app. It appears only 2nd-gen devices with the new user interface are currently receiving the updated photos app, but it will likely come to older 1st-gen devices later this year when those devices eventually receive the new interface.
Strangely, Amazon has updated the Fire TV’s Software Update page to indicate that a new operating system version has been released for 2nd-gen devices. While the true latest software version seems to still be 5.2.4.0, the page now indicates the latest software version to be 5.3.2.0 with a build number of 801027110. I think this is a mistake because the new alleged operating system build number is actually the version number of the new Prime Photos app. I expect the software update page will be reverted back once someone at Amazon realises the mistake … or reads this post ;-).
As for the new option to disable the Prime Photos app, you can find it by going to Settings > Applications > Prime Photos. When you select the new option, you’ll have to confirm you want to disable the app; first by selecting “Disable Prime Photos” and second by selecting “Disable” to confirm. With the app disabled, it will still appear in your list of apps in the Fire TV’s interface, but selecting the Prime Photos app will display a message telling you the app is disabled and that you need to go into settings and enable it before you can launch the app.
As soon as you disable the app, it automatically deletes all of the photos and videos that it was storing locally on your device, which were previously downloaded from your Amazon Drive. For me, disabling the app freed up 1.48 GB of internal storage. Even if it’s disabled, the photos app will still use around 400MB of internal storage due to various interface images that it must store, like the default screen saver images.
While it would be better to be given the option within the photos app to select which photos and videos it stores locally, or better yet, the option to cap how much internal storage it uses, the new option to disable the app altogether is a welcomed addition. Hopefully a completely new Prime Photos app, that both better matches the new interface and has more advanced storage management options, is in the works, and that this updated app is just a temporary stopgap.
@AFTVnews
AFTVnews
SWEET!!! My sons storage is full and he doesn’t even use the prime photos, I do. Once disabled, does this instantly free space and “delete” the photos on that particular unit? Thanks for the heads up!
The second to last paragraph in the article says it automatically deletes photos when you disable the app.
I understand that any cached photos will be deleted from the Fire TV device, but will they remain on the Amazon cloud servers so that re-enabling the photos app will allow you to see them again without uploading them again?
Yes. Nothing is deleted from your Amazon Drive and you can easily re-enable the app at anytime to use it again.
Prime Photos is one of the most used apps on my Fire TV.
Is there any way to have it store it’s photos on the SD card?
Wonder if someone can mod this so some using an older modded firmware can do the same? Or swap from the updated version or the photo app & then use these features?
Just install the latest rom with one of Rbox’s pre-rooted roms. Why would you stay with an old firmware?
Great. This is helpful since I no longer use my Fire TV to see my Photos since they made it a separate App.
Wow, surprised it uses 400 mb without even running!
It also seems silly there isn’t a way to limit how much gets downloaded/synced up with the device. I had a problem with a full AFTV already (btw, still haven’t seen you post an article about how to fix that by deleting certain databases, unless I missed it) and I don’t even use Amazon Drive.
How to get the updated app with a rooted FTV2? I already have the 5.2.4.0 Update, but it´s still the “old” one without the updated Photos app.
Will there be a updated prerooted rom by rbox? The actual rom is from December 10th, 2016 – 5.2.4.0_r1.
If someone uploads the new Prime Photos APK, you can manually install it. I’m sorry, but I can’t risk uploading it due to copyright laws.
Rbox won’t release a new ROM just for this app update, but the new app should be included in the next ROM once an OS update is released.
My photos were still on the app when I disabled it . How do I delete them ?
I am late to this, but I do not have this option in Prime Photos. The version of Prime Photos I have is: 2.0 826450910. I’d like that APK of Prime Photos to disable it, thanks!
How do you remove the amazon photo app all together so it doesn’t show up on the fire tv. Also how do you password protect the app if someone wants to redownload it on your fire tv?
Did you ever get an answer to your Amazon Photo question?
I have 5 tv’s using Amazon Prime and Fire TV sticks,
.
I just learned that all watchers on all 5 sets can SEE my Amazon Photos!
What can I do?
Ally
I have tried this multiple times and it continues to restart ? Cache continues to build and I’ve even deleted data!? Any help?
My prime photo app doesn’t work at all, when I click on it, it says there is an update, so I do the update and click open and it still says update required. Also when I click on apps or manage installed apps the prime photo app isn’t shown at all. Help.
Same for me. It wants update but doesnt update and i am in a loop. I reset the fire tv stick to factory default, after the updates and everything prime photos worked for 1 or two days then came to that update loop again. I am stuck
Same here on all my firesticks
I am not able to view this application in my fire tv stick bought from amazon.in
How can you block it from being able to turn back on? Like my kids dont need to be able to turn it on and see my personal pictures from my phone?
My TV started showing photos from my Amazon photos app without me telling it to. I had finished catching a film on amazon but left the tv running. Next thing I knew was that my photos were being shown on my TV.I had to turn off my computer and my phone and my firestick tovstop it. This app is dangerous
Hahaha…Dangerous only if you have photos of things you’re ashamed of in the account.
Hey earlier there was an icon of amazon photos app in the dashboard but after the recent update i can’t find the app anymore . I also looked in the appstore but its not there also.currently i am using fire tv stick lite .kindly can you give me some update regarding the issue
Did you ever get an answer to your Amazon Photo question?
I have 5 tv’s using Amazon Prime and Fire TV sticks,
.
I just learned that all watchers on all 5 sets can SEE my Amazon Photos!
What can I do?
Ally