Amazon is shutting down its Freevee app in August
Amazon has finally announced when the Freevee streaming video app will close for good. As of next month, the Freevee app will be inaccessible, with content now being available on Prime Video instead.
The shuttering is no surprise, as the closure was announced last year. At the time, however, Amazon did not specify a timeline for how things would pan out. Some eight months after the original announcement, the company has finally revealed that the Freevee app will be shut down in August 2025.
Even though any remaining Freevee hangers-on now have a clearer cut-off point, Amazon is not exactly shouting about the app’s imminent closure. The company is using, AFTVnews shares, an in-app notification to advice users:
Prime Video is the new exclusive home for Freevee TV shows, movies and Live TV. The Freevee app will be accessible until August 2025. Continue watching your favorite Free Originals and our library of hit movies, shows, and live TV on Prime Video for free, no subscription needed. Download Prime Video to get started and sign-in with your Amazon account.
Using an in-app notification will ensure that anyone who continue to use the Freevee app on a regular basis will be aware of what is happening, the news will not necessarily reach all remaining users. For anyone who uses the app infrequently, they may not learn that the Freevee app is no longer available until they try to use it in August or later.
There is also likely to be a degree of confusion when the closure rolls around. While Amazon points out that Freevee content is available free of charge on Prime Video without the need for a paid subscription, Amazon Prime is something that many people automatically assume involves payment and may therefore be put off even trying it out.
With the streaming video market now feeling somewhat saturated, it is little wonder that some services are being dropped. Increased costs can make it difficult for companies to justify keeping a service running, and even a huge corporation like Amazon can see the sense in cutting back and considering whether just one streaming option is enough.
What we’re likely to see from Amazon next month, and shortly afterwards, is a push to encourage ex-Freevee users to consider jumping from a free to a paid subscription.
With old Freevee content accessible through less-than-prominent Watch for Free section of Prime Video, forcing users to scroll past listings for movies and shows they cannot watch for free will do one of two things. Many users will indeed consider parting with some cash to gain access to more content, but others may be irritated by the carrot-dangling and start to look elsewhere for their entertainment.