humblemuzzu/dumbtv

The problem

A Fire TV doesn't behave like hardware you bought: the home screen is mostly sponsored tiles, background Amazon services eat memory, and the device reports what you watch. The usual fixes are root, a full custom ROM, or blindly disabling packages from a forum list until something breaks. dumbtv packages the cleanup as a reversible ADB workflow: it disables roughly fifty Amazon ad, telemetry and ACR packages, runs a DNS filter on the TV for hosts that can't be disabled, and optionally swaps the launcher.

What's different

Compared with debloat script collections, dumbtv is built around reversibility and per-device verification: a preflight script reports what the TV is and what would change before touching anything, and the README says everything can be undone with one command. Compared with a Pi-hole or router-level block, the included personalDNSfilter runs on the TV itself, so it travels with the device and needs no extra hardware — at the cost of a second process on a low-memory box. The bundled launcher is plain Java with no internet permission, which makes its privacy claim structural rather than a promise.

Who it's for

Owners of Fire TV sticks, Cubes and Fire TV Edition televisions who want the hardware quieter without rooting or reflashing, and who are comfortable running shell scripts from a laptop. People who want a fully custom Android TV setup, or who expect a supported product with a warranty-safe guarantee, should look elsewhere. Anyone unwilling to re-check behavior after a Fire OS update should also stay away.

Cost of adoption

You need a computer with adb, ADB debugging enabled on the TV, and about ten minutes; macOS, Linux and Windows via WSL or Git Bash are listed as supported. The README's tested-device table covers roughly a dozen models across Fire OS 6.x to 8.1, so unmatched models are a guess. Disabling Amazon packages can break features you actually use, which is why the configure step asks about Prime Video and Alexa. The license file is flagged NOASSERTION despite an MIT badge, so verify terms before redistributing. The README is detailed and honest about trade-offs; maturity signals beyond that are thin.

Verdict

The project is six days old and already at about 1,486 stars with roughly 234 per day at its peak, which is a viral spike, not an established track record. Interest is clearly real — the problem is common and the press coverage is wide — but the code has had very little time in the field, and Fire OS updates can invalidate package lists without warning. Try it if you have a spare stick or a TV you can afford to reset; wait a few months if it's the main television in the house.