Within the past week, a couple of people have posted on Reddit, receiving an email from Amazon. "Hello, We are reaching out to inform you about some concerning activity detected on your Amazon prime video account violating the Prime Video Terms of use".... Followed by mentioning section 4.k of the TOS and issuing a warning without taking any action on the account.Anybody else have seen this?

Within the past week, a couple of people have posted on Reddit, receiving an email from Amazon. "Hello, We are reaching out to inform you about some concerning activity detected on your Amazon prime video account violating the Prime Video Terms of use".... Followed by mentioning section 4.k of the TOS and issuing a warning without taking any action on the account.Anybody else have seen this?MrMayorit's being talked about over here on discord, their banning accounts of people that rip stuff from Amazon.

Interesting! What are the circumstances behind the emails? Is the user downloading 100 files per day, possibly for several days at a time? Are they downloading from their own region, or are they VPNing to another region? In other words, what is the "activity detected on your Amazon prime video account" that is abnormal enough that they feel the need to issue a warning or to ban an account? As for the 100 files a day, the very most a people could actually watch in a single day would 48 half-hour shows. Hour long shows and movies are even less. It's very easy for them to know that you aren't just binge-watching. Greed ruins it for everybody.On the other hand, if Amazon (or anyone else) wants to ban me, that's fine with me. They'd be out subscription money for Amazon Prime and three other providers that I get over Amazon now. I wind up with more dollars in my pocket, and I'll still be able to get all the files I want via Torrenting. It's their loss, not mine. I guarantee that the time will come in a short amount of time that Amazon will offer downloads for a few extra dollars as part of their subscriptions. They don't really care that you are downloading, they just want to be the one making the money off it and not a third party like DVDFab.

Interesting! What are the circumstances behind the emails? Is the user downloading 100 files per day, possibly for several days at a time? Are they downloading from their own region, or are they VPNing to another region? In other words, what is the "activity detected on your Amazon prime video account" that is abnormal enough that they feel the need to issue a warning or to ban an account? As for the 100 files a day, the very most a people could actually watch in a single day would 48 half-hour shows. Hour long shows and movies are even less. It's very easy for them to know that you aren't just binge-watching. Greed ruins it for everybody.On the other hand, if Amazon (or anyone else) wants to ban me, that's fine with me. They'd be out subscription money for Amazon Prime and three other providers that I get over Amazon now. I wind up with more dollars in my pocket, and I'll still be able to get all the files I want via Torrenting. It's their loss, not mine. I guarantee that the time will come in a short amount of time that Amazon will offer downloads for a few extra dollars as part of their subscriptions. They don't really care that you are downloading, they just want to be the one making the money off it and not a third party like DVDFab.Cats4Usee here - https://www.reddit.com/r/Streamfab/comments/1lxr0cs/amazon_warning_message/?share_id=Va4HTG25G4pME9VIgjKGP&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1

A few quick thoughts- AWS "knows" when you request each title, if you have the regular account (with ads) it might be triggering no ads watched tripwire, also, they might have a trigger to see if you "got the title" but Amazon's player doesn't register the title as "watched"The short of it is: it's naïve to assume that someone at amazon hasn't worked out what the difference between genuine player and what SF does (even just going off the ads, recall it's an avenue stream that SF deprives of the corporation that's posting billions in net profit)

This is not how it works. You can download an encrypted file without an Amazon account, just follow the link from the MPD. SF gets the decryption key and does not play the file, as recordings programs do. then, using the key, decryption module and muxer, the user receives his file. An Amazon account is required to access the MPD file and receive the key.Suspicion often arises when people often buy a TV series or a movie and after some time (for which you can download what you bought using SF) cancel the purchase, as if they bought it by mistake. many people indulge in this

Amazons loss.Since they started the ripoff £1.99 to remove ads in addition to the Prime Video sub we are forced to pay even if we only want quick deliveries I cancel my Prime every month. I used to let it roll but now I cancel then renew as and when I need it. Sometimes weeks sometimes days but they lose out. If they stopped us being able to download stuff I would not bother. Although I don't currently have Netflix or Paramount subs if they did block downloading I wouldn't bother with them at all

This is not how it works. You can download an encrypted file without an Amazon account, just follow the link from the MPD. SF gets the decryption key and does not play the file, as recordings programs do. then, using the key, decryption module and muxer, the user receives his file. An Amazon account is required to access the MPD file and receive the key.Suspicion often arises when people often buy a TV series or a movie and after some time (for which you can download what you bought using SF) cancel the purchase, as if they bought it by mistake. many people indulge in thisbricksYou are free to believe whatever you like, or you can set up an injector between SF and AWS and find out yourself by pushing random errors that claim to befrom AWS toward SF :rolleyes:And in the case of a latter (purchased, downloaded, cancelled), AWS registers "access" but no corresponding "play," the "play" would prevent cancellation, but the cancellation happened, hence you get a discrepancy triggered

Amazons loss.Since they started the ripoff £1.99 to remove ads in addition to the Prime Video sub we are forced to pay even if we only want quick deliveries I cancel my Prime every month. I used to let it roll but now I cancel then renew as and when I need it. Sometimes weeks sometimes days but they lose out. If they stopped us being able to download stuff I would not bother. Although I don't currently have Netflix or Paramount subs if they did block downloading I wouldn't bother with them at allphelingsI've long been saying all this nonsense from the vendors actually enables the scene and download sites get rich at the expense of amazon

Reddit had several people; in fact, one thread was deleted.I don't know what is setting this in motion. I haven't seen anyone post about it here in the forum till now.In the other deleted thread, it was from Amazon uk. Not sure if there is just an issue with the UK version, or it's something that will spread out over all of Amazon, including Amazon.com.I suppose in a way, they may have found something they are trying and focusing on; many I know do 100 max downloads a day. I know there were times when I did 100 per day for several days in a row.Some are wondering why just getting the email now; it could be that they just started to implement it. Now I don't have the demand to do 100 per day. I do still see where it can be hard. We talked before about an increase to 200 or more for Amazon because people are buying Paramount and many other providers through Amazon. If you have 3 other providers and count Amazon as well, that's 4, divide 100 by 4 that gives you 25 downloads per provider per day.All that can be done is watch the situation, and if you need 100, maybe try to spread it out at 10 to 25, then take a break and repeat.In the end, they can possibly lose money if they keep letting people download, but no matter what, it will continue, and to ban or block paying people from watching or using Prime for watching movies or shows really can cause a loss of money as well. Amazon, the last thing they need to worry about is losing money. And the added money to remove ads when Prime never had them since its inception is just that, BS.Another interesting point is that many claim most other programs record, although I know 2 that surely go out of their way to make it look as though they are downloading and not recording, but you wonder if they will cause this problem to trigger if they do either download or record.I am not even sure Amazon has a way to reply or contact them, but I feel that if I got the letter, I would want more details.Because we don't know if these people are purchasing trials and then canceling, or what else they may be doing, even maybe sharing their accounts.And people may need to stop VPN use, as that's one of the easiest things for websites to detect.Try it and check it out on reliable bank sites, etc. OR check Proxy & VPN Detection API | proxycheck.io

I think some common sense would come into play too, if the VPN use itself is not the trigger. If all you do is rip, and never actually watch shows on your Prime Video account, that would trigger me if it were my service. I try to watch shows on my Prime account quite a bit via my Apple TV and I have the full upgraded Prime subscription, as well as couple of addon channels. Sorry if that was 'captain obvious' comment, but I'm actually in midst of downloading some stuff for my new movie box in living room, some to replace ancient dvd isos of discs I purchased, as my movie box gets confused by mult-disc sets per season, so the ripped versions (e.g., Invader Zim, etc.) is way more practical. Keeping eye on this topic since top of mind. Kinda been going nuts on Amazon downloads as it was a way to get many of my Apple legit purchases as downloads for my new movie box which cannot use the Apple 'app' at all.

Warning email from Amazon

Elgin

It doesn't matter who sent it, it doesn't say that I used amazon.co.uk illegally.
The important thing is that I can also see it on amazon.de/gp/message#!/inbox
Germania

You misunderstood me. The message is from https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/msg/cntr/aw/message. There is no message under my german account. Is is uk only.

It also states:"If you believe this warning has been issued in error, please contact Amazon Customer Service. How can I verify if this email is from Amazon? Amazon emails are always sent from @amazon.co.uk. Account Specialist.

Clearly a UK only thing. Whatever, I think it's strange that the german service doesn't know about it and can confirm that nothing was sent from the german team. They even suggested it was fake. Of course it's not fake, since I can comfirm it on the UK amazon site.

Stan001

I don't know or even think it's worth looking for a pattern. Some with long-term accounts, some with short-term accounts, some with Prime, some with Prime and the extra pay for no ads, some who say one download triggered it.

I guess I go with the api changes, but like a few others say, what's to stop Amazon from changing it every week? They have the resources.
And worst, you know Netflix, Peacock, and other providers probably have people following this and may someday try to implement it too, rendering streamfab useless.
The only upside is Netflix. Peacock doesn't have a huge store that sells many items, as well as other stuff.
Although you still can lose your Netflix account and any money paid, you can also make a number of accounts for other providers, as well as Amazon, but it will become very tiresome, and they can also track each account via IP.

Even Reddit implemented something if users get banned, whether it’s from just a sub or all of Reddit, and people try to bypass that with another account, many have been caught.

Another thing to really consider for those who got the warning, will you at all be willing to risk your Amazon account if streamfab does fix the api issue?
And how long can you risk it before it happens again? I have not seen, overall, that many claiming suspension of accounts, which means you lose everything, like if you have subs to other providers or rented or bought videos, etc. But suspension is possible.

TheRaven

You misunderstood me. The message is from https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/msg/cntr/aw/message. There is no message under my german account. Is is uk only.

It also states:"If you believe this warning has been issued in error, please contact Amazon Customer Service. How can I verify if this email is from Amazon? Amazon emails are always sent from @amazon.co.uk. Account Specialist.

Clearly a UK only thing. Whatever, I think it's strange that the german service doesn't know about it and can confirm that nothing was sent from the german team. They even suggested it was fake. Of course it's not fake, since I can comfirm it on the UK amazon site.
Elgin

It's not a UK only thing. My message came from Amazon.com (US), even though I deal with Amazon.ca. Message was not in Amazon.ca message center, but it was in Amazon.com message center.

Sebastian001

I don't know or even think it's worth looking for a pattern. Some with long-term accounts, some with short-term accounts, some with Prime, some with Prime and the extra pay for no ads, some who say one download triggered it.

I guess I go with the api changes, but like a few others say, what's to stop Amazon from changing it every week? They have the resources.
And worst, you know Netflix, Peacock, and other providers probably have people following this and may someday try to implement it too, rendering streamfab useless.
The only upside is Netflix. Peacock doesn't have a huge store that sells many items, as well as other stuff.
Although you still can lose your Netflix account and any money paid, you can also make a number of accounts for other providers, as well as Amazon, but it will become very tiresome, and they can also track each account via IP.

Even Reddit implemented something if users get banned, whether it’s from just a sub or all of Reddit, and people try to bypass that with another account, many have been caught.

Another thing to really consider for those who got the warning, will you at all be willing to risk your Amazon account if streamfab does fix the api issue?
And how long can you risk it before it happens again? I have not seen, overall, that many claiming suspension of accounts, which means you lose everything, like if you have subs to other providers or rented or bought videos, etc ...
Stan001

Yes, with Widevine DRM, there's simply black or white... we see it. In this case, we're blind.

Elgin

It's not a UK only thing. My message came from Amazon.com (US), even though I deal with Amazon.ca. Message was not in Amazon.ca message center, but it was in Amazon.com message center.
TheRaven

I meant in my case it was uk only.

Ok, I see... so a mail from the US team to CA center.
Like the above poster said: no pattern so far. Damn.

IronicMan

maybe an idea for some....If you have a family that watches your stuff, maybe just record a few shows off the monitor, and play one of those shows without telling your family that it's just a monitor recording, and see if any of them complain about the quality...depending on your setup, they might not notice or care...i just record off the monitor at 720p...in my case, that's usually good enough and i'm almost positive my mom wouldn't know or care...and if it's one of those special effects extravaganza type shows, I could always just buy a used blu-ray....also, I've noticed that if I'm only watching the best recordings for awhile, like from blu-ray, etc...the emotional impact is lessened...if i watch a few shows in Standard Defenition or poor youtube quality shows just because I can enjoy that particular show anyway for whatever reason, then after that, I watch a high def show, it's like....wow, that looks really great....so mixing up the quality like that can give you an experience you otherwise would not get...so if you're not watching some shows with poor quality video, you're missing out on part of the fun :) ...

Sebastian001

maybe an idea for some....If you have a family that watches your stuff, maybe just record a few shows off the monitor, and play one of those shows without telling your family that it's just a monitor recording, and see if any of them complain about the quality...depending on your setup, they might not notice or care...i just record off the monitor at 720p...in my case, that's usually good enough and i'm almost positive my mom wouldn't know or care...and if it's one of those special effects extravaganza type shows, I could always just buy a used blu-ray....also, I've noticed that if I'm only watching the best recordings for awhile, like from blu-ray, etc...the emotional impact is lessened...if i watch a few shows in Standard Defenition or poor youtube quality shows just because I can enjoy that particular show anyway for whatever reason, then after that, I watch a high def show, it's like....wow, that looks really great....so mixing up the quality like that can give you an experience you otherwise would not get...so if you're not watching some shows with poor quality video, you're missing out on part of the fun :) ...
IronicMan

that's nonsense

Sebastian001

I bought Streamfab to have a real download, not a bad screen recording. We've had all that, all rubbish. It should be clear to everyone that this game doesn't work indefinitely. It's the same as when a new DRM comes along that you can't crack or buy. I've long since unloaded the money I paid for the software back then.

Besides, there are other providers besides Amazon...

0xFeedBeef

Ok, so is there anyone on the ad-free plan and got the "warning"?

TheRaven

Ok, so is there anyone on the ad-free plan and got the "warning"?
0xFeedBeef

Yes.

0xFeedBeef

Yes.
TheRaven

so it's probably some reporting by the new API (to the effect of "yes, this title is definitely being watched") and not just ad correlation

Cats4U

There are two ways that Amazon has figured out the people are downloading (with StreamFab and its clones).

1) Lots of activity online at Prime Video, but no streaming being completed. This has already been discussed, and I think it might just be an initiating step where they decided to search for what was going on.

2) User-Agent Client Hints. Google it. This method provides all the information about the browser/client you are using to contact a server. A simple line called a User-Agent that looks something like this... Mozilla/5.0 (X11; CrOS x86_64 14541.0.0) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/138.0.0.0 Safari/537.36, was used on Chromium-based browsers previously. Somewhere around Chromium 90, User-Agent Client Hints became the default information transfer method. It provides a lot more information. StreamFab until relatively recently only used the User-Agent that matched the CEF that they use. Now, they seem to have a user-agent switcher that changes the User-Agent once in a while, but does nothing to change the Client Hints. Amazon is obviously using Client Hints to get their information on what browser/client you are using. Try this for yourself, in StreamFab enter the address of https://browserleaks.com/client-hints or better yet, https://www.deviceinfo.me. Amazing, how much they know about your client, aka StreamFab. The Client Hint that stands out to me is the browser - Chromium 135, but it could be anything that they are keying in on. If they see a client with a Chromium 135, they might go back and see how many complete streams of videos you watched. If you are showing 0 or a small amount and yet have a lot of activity online, the email gets sent.

slottedpig

There are two ways that Amazon has figured out the people are downloading (with StreamFab and its clones).

1) Lots of activity online at Prime Video, but no streaming being completed. This has already been discussed, and I think it might just be an initiating step where they decided to search for what was going on.

2) User-Agent Client Hints. Google it. This method provides all the information about the browser/client you are using to contact a server. A simple line called a User-Agent that looks something like this... Mozilla/5.0 (X11; CrOS x86_64 14541.0.0) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/138.0.0.0 Safari/537.36, was used on Chromium-based browsers previously. Somewhere around Chromium 90, User-Agent Client Hints became the default information transfer method. It provides a lot more information. StreamFab until relatively recently only used the User-Agent that matched the CEF that they use. Now, they seem to have a user-agent switcher that changes the User-Agent once in a while, but does nothing to change the Client Hints. Amazon is obviously using Client Hints to get their information on what browser/client you are using. Try this for yourself, in StreamFab enter the address of https://browserleaks.com/client-hints or better yet, https://www.deviceinfo.me. Amazing, how much they know about your client, aka StreamFab. The Client Hint that stands out to me is the browser - Chromium 135, but it could be anything that they are keying in on. If they see a client with a Chromium 135, they might go back and see how many complete streams of videos you watched. If you are showing 0 or a small amount and yet have a lot of activity online, the email gets sent.
Cats4U

So are you saying that if SF keeps chromium up to date that may be a possibilty? As far as i know they are a little behind on the chromium updates.

IronicMan

that's nonsense
Sebastian001

i think your reply was nonsense, but if that's your honest and best reply, that's totally fine...as long as you're making an honest effort, i respect that.

Cats4U

So are you saying that if SF keeps chromium up to date that may be a possibilty? As far as i know they are a little behind on the chromium updates.
slottedpig

Maybe. It could be something else they might be keying in on. Chromium seemed the most obvious thing to me, but it could be something else. I'm definitely not an expert on the subject, so I might be way off the mark. I'll be doing a lot more reading on the subject tomorrow, when I get a chance. One thing I did read already seems to imply that if the client doesn't use JavaScript, it can't send back any information to the server. But then again, the server could possibly be programmed so that it will not connect to the client if it doesn't get the info. At https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34180160 they mention using NoScript (https://noscript.net/) to stop the JavaScript. Let the cat and mouse games continue.
I rarely download anything from Amazon Prime Video directly, but I did have two subscriptions for other providers that I had started to use more and more (until all the shows went on hiatus for the summer). I just cancelled them. I'm going back to torrenting for them. The reason I started with StreamFab to begin with was because I was feeling guilty about using torrenting all the time and not paying for anything. Paying the monthly fee helped to calm my guilt somewhat. I look at it just like time-shifting on a VCR or DVR. I don't always feel like watching what they make available when they make it available. By downloading it, I can watch it when I want to watch it. And unlike 9 out of 10 of you, after my wife and I watch a show, we delete it. Nor do we make it available to any of our friends or family. I don't consider myself a pirate, I look at myself as a time-shifter who is willing to pay a monthly fee to download videos to be watched later.

Cats4U

As far as i know they are a little behind on the chromium updates.
slottedpig

Straight from Gemini AI...

As of July 26, 2025, the latest stable Chromium CEF release is 138.0.33+g276ed6d+chromium-138.0.7204.169, which is based on Chromium 138.0.7204.169.

You can often find the most up-to-date information on the CEF Automated Builds page (https://www.google.com/search?q=cef-builds.spotifycdn.com) and the CefSharp GitHub releases page.

slottedpig

Maybe. It could be something else they might be keying in on. Chromium seemed the most obvious thing to me, but it could be something else. I'm definitely not an expert on the subject, so I might be way off the mark. I'll be doing a lot more reading on the subject tomorrow, when I get a chance. One thing I did read already seems to imply that if the client doesn't use JavaScript, it can't send back any information to the server. But then again, the server could possibly be programmed so that it will not connect to the client if it doesn't get the info. At https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34180160 they mention using NoScript (https://noscript.net/) to stop the JavaScript. Let the cat and mouse games continue.
I rarely download anything from Amazon Prime Video directly, but I did have two subscriptions for other providers that I had started to use more and more (until all the shows went on hiatus for the summer). I just cancelled them. I'm going back to torrenting for them. The reason I started with StreamFab to begin with was because I was feeling guilty about using torrenting all the time and not paying for anything. Paying the monthly fee helped to calm my guilt somewhat. I look at it just like time-shifting on a VCR or DVR. I don't always feel like watching what they make available when they make it available. By downloading it, I can watch it when I want to watch it. And unlike 9 out of 10 of you, after my wife and I watch a show, we delete it. Nor do we make it available to any of our friends or family. I don't consider myself a pirate, I look at myself as a time-shifter who is willing to pay a monthly fee to download videos to be watched later.
Cats4U

Dude, I feel the same way, i carry subs for many of the main services to give them the money they deserve and keep stuff for later, i defintely havent downloaded nearly as much as ive given them money for anyway. i dont ever delete it but i also dont share with anyone who wouldnt already have access to my accounts anyway pretty much the people who live in my house. Its just frustrating that i cant stream directly the way i want for instance, i have an HTPC that i like to use with kodi and i have a preshow setup for movies, i cant use that as far as i know without having the file locally stored and in the library. This is my main reason for SF. Like i said earlier, amazon is the most important service for many reasons, not only is it a store front but also most others including apple are now being offered through amazons interface which makes it super easy since you dont need all the logins or modules.

Sebastian001

This is not a private chat, you have to assume someone from Amazon could be reading along!

I wouldn't be surprised if these emails were sent using AI! In other words, there's no logic involved; they're probably using AI. Nobody is sitting there sending them manually.

naszdom

When post 122 had his account suspended, that was not AI

DQ1

There are two ways that Amazon has figured out the people are downloading (with StreamFab and its clones).

1) Lots of activity online at Prime Video, but no streaming being completed. This has already been discussed, and I think it might just be an initiating step where they decided to search for what was going on.

2) User-Agent Client Hints. Google it. This method provides all the information about the browser/client you are using to contact a server. A simple line called a User-Agent that looks something like this... Mozilla/5.0 (X11; CrOS x86_64 14541.0.0) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/138.0.0.0 Safari/537.36, was used on Chromium-based browsers previously. Somewhere around Chromium 90, User-Agent Client Hints became the default information transfer method. It provides a lot more information. StreamFab until relatively recently only used the User-Agent that matched the CEF that they use. Now, they seem to have a user-agent switcher that changes the User-Agent once in a while, but does nothing to change the Client Hints. Amazon is obviously using Client Hints to get their information on what browser/client you are using. Try this for yourself, in StreamFab enter the address of https://browserleaks.com/client-hints or better yet, https://www.deviceinfo.me. Amazing, how much they know about your client, aka StreamFab. The Client Hint that stands out to me is the browser - Chromium 135, but it could be anything that they are keying in on. If they see a client with a Chromium 135, they might go back and see how many complete streams of videos you watched. If you are showing 0 or a small amount and yet have a lot of activity online, the email gets sent.
Cats4U

I am sure it could be many things. But I don't think it's rocket science. To watch a stream, exhibits very different behavior than does downloading at max speed. Whether they outsource their CDNs or it's their own department, I am sure they can easily track who does what and the behavior of that client. I am sure they have logs that go back a year or more. They can probably run simple reports that points out the vast difference in behavior. It would stick out like a sore thumb. I am sure they could also use AI but that's not even needed I don't think. I run networks, I can do these things on my own networks and I am not a zillion dollar company.

I assume they probably sent out a random smattering of notifications based on some loose requirements. Could have been Amazon themselves, could have been someone they contracted to handle this based on who owns the CDNs. I think this was basically a warning shot across the bow. They probably really don't want to cancel accounts, they lose money that way. So they are tamping it down and saying, hey stop that.

I would imagine if it slows then they leave it alone. If it continues I would imagine they get more heavy handed. Maybe we can go back to a few safe downloads here and there, maybe not. They have probably chosen this route because it's less of a cost monetarily than changing encryption or making other major changes. At the end of the day it's all business.

Also, I am sure they read this forum. Because why would they not.

« Previous Page Next Page »