For Firestick, Fire TV & Android TV

Ember Browser

A privacy-first browser built for the Fire TV Stick and driven entirely by the standard remote. Ads and trackers are dropped before the request ever leaves your device — which on a Stick means pages load noticeably lighter.

Download Ember APK
Version 1.04.4 MBAndroid 5.1 (API 22)+Free

Typing on a TV remote? Enter this into the Downloader app:

senddrop.link/ember

What Ember does

Blocks ads before they load

Blocked requests never leave the device, so there is no page weight and no round trip — that matters on a Stick's modest CPU and Wi-Fi. Ember loads hosts-format lists (StevenBlack, 1Hosts Lite) plus Adblock-syntax domain rules, refreshes them on launch, and hides leftover ad containers with CSS. A seed list ships inside the app so the very first launch is never unprotected.

A cursor you drive with the D-pad

Most of the web assumes a mouse, and Fire TV has no touchscreen. Ember draws an on-screen pointer that moves with the D-pad and accelerates as you hold a direction, then synthesises real touch events underneath it — so a page's own handlers fire properly. Push the pointer into a screen edge and the page scrolls instead of stalling.

Link mode when you want speed

Press Play/Pause to turn the pointer off and use the browser's native focus navigation instead. It is quicker on well-built sites. Both modes exist because neither one works everywhere.

Private by default

Third-party cookies off. Camera, microphone and location requests are denied automatically. Form data is not saved. DuckDuckGo is the default search engine.

Remote controls

Everything works from the standard Fire TV remote.

D-padMove the pointer (accelerates while held), or move focus in link mode
SelectClick. Hold about a second to inspect the link under the pointer
MenuOpen the side menu — address bar, bookmarks, shields, zoom
Play / PauseSwitch between pointer mode and link mode
Rewind / ForwardPage up and page down
BackPrevious page. Hold to return to the start page

Text entry uses the Fire TV system keyboard, which appears whenever the address field takes focus.

Install on Firestick / Fire TV

Takes about five minutes. You only do steps 1 and 2 once.

  1. 1

    Allow apps from unknown sources

    From the Fire TV home screen go to Settings → My Fire TV → Developer Options and turn on Apps from Unknown Sources.
    If Developer Options is hidden, open Settings → My Fire TV → About and click Fire TV Stick seven times to unlock it.
  2. 2

    Install the Downloader app

    Search the Amazon Appstore for Downloader (the orange icon by AFTVnews) and install it. It is free and is the standard way to sideload on Fire OS.
  3. 3

    Enter the download URL

    Open Downloader, select the URL box, and type senddrop.link/ember then press Go.
  4. 4

    Install and launch

    When the download finishes, choose Install, then Done. Delete the APK when Downloader offers to free up space. Ember now appears on your Fire TV home row.

Install on Android phone or tablet

  • Tap the download button above in your mobile browser.
  • Open the downloaded file. Android will ask you to allow installs from your browser the first time — accept, then go back and open it again.
  • Ember is designed for a remote and a landscape TV screen, so it works best on Fire TV and Android TV. It will run on a phone, but the layout is built for the big screen.

Before you install

Ember is distributed as a sideloaded APK and is provided as-is, without warranty of any kind. Sideloading means the app is installed outside the Amazon Appstore or Google Play, so it is not screened by those stores. Ad and tracker blocking is best-effort and no blocklist catches everything. You are responsible for how you use the browser and for complying with the laws and terms of service that apply where you live. Always download from this page rather than a mirror, so you know you have the original file.

Questions

Does Ember really block ads?+
Yes. Requests to known ad and tracker domains are dropped before they leave your device, using hosts-format blocklists refreshed on each launch, plus cosmetic CSS filtering for any leftover containers. No blocklist is perfect, so expect the occasional ad to slip through.
How is this different from sideloading Brave?+
Brave's Android APK does install on a Firestick, but its interface is built for phone touchscreens and is genuinely awkward to drive with a D-pad. Ember is designed for the remote from the start — cursor mode, link mode, and a side menu that is reachable without a mouse.
Which devices does it work on?+
Anything running Android 5.1 or newer, which covers every Fire TV Stick generation plus Android TV and Google TV boxes.
Why do I need the Downloader app?+
Firestick has no built-in file manager for APKs. Downloader fetches the file and hands it to the Android installer. It is the standard tool for this.
Is it safe to enable 'Apps from Unknown Sources'?+
It simply allows installs from outside the Amazon Appstore. The setting itself is harmless — what matters is trusting the specific app you install. You can turn it back off afterwards.
How do I update or uninstall?+
To update, repeat the same steps with the latest APK — it installs over the old version. To remove it, go to Settings → Applications → Manage Installed Applications, pick Ember and choose Uninstall.