Last week, Amazon announced that they were going to be updating their lineup of Prime phones to removed the lock screen ads that had been on them since the program’s inception. That process, which is a OTA update to the phones, is underway now.
One of the questions that came up last week however was what would the online retailer do with those who had paid the $45 fee to remove the lock screen ads? The answer is they are getting a refund of sorts. No, it’s not cash but rather a gift card to spend with the retailer.
An email to those who paid the fee for the removal of the ads is being sent out with the Amazon Gift Card being applied to their account balance over the course of the next few days. While it is good to see the retail giant offering some compensation for those who paid for the removal of ads, it is a bit cheeky to do so with a gift card. Essentially this isn’t really a refund but rather a transfer of balance between Amazon’s account and your account balance.
How many people will actually get this balance transfer/refund is not really known but if you paid to have the lock screen ads removed, you should be getting an email over the next few days.
