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Amazon is refunding Prime phone buyers who paid to remove ads
Amazon's Prime Exclusive phones have great prices, but there was a big catch. You had to allow ads on your home screen and if you changed your mind later, it could cost up to $50 to opt out. Buyers got a bonus last week when Amazon decided to eliminate the ads, saying they could interfere with facial recognition and cause other issues. That's great, but it what about folks who paid the fee to get rid of them? Amazon has agreed to refund it in the form of a gift card, essentially closing the chapter on its Prime Exclusive phone ad experiment.
Amazon pulls lock screen ads from discounted Prime phones
Amazon's Prime Exclusive phones are decent bargains over their regular counterparts, but there has always been a catch: your lock screen becomes a billboard. It doesn't really feel like your phone with those ads and offers. You won't have to put up with that marketing for much longer, however. Amazon will sell its Prime-only phones without lock screen ads as of February 7th, and it's pushing an update this week that will strip the promos from existing phones. Amazon's app shortcuts will still be front and center once you've unlocked your phone, but you can always remove those if you don't care for Kindle books or Prime Video. Those who paid to remove ads can get refunds.
