AmALfi - News

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Bitly.com policy change removes AmALfi built-in short link quota
Date: April 2024

Unfortunately a policy change announced by Bitly.com - the service providerused by both Amazon™ and AmALfi to create amzn.to short links - in March 2024 resulted in AmALfi's built in short link quota being reduced by 99.9%.

We negotiated with Bitly.com but they were not prepared to extend our free short links quota beyond the new standard 10 (yes, just 10, to be shared between our thousands of users!) despite the fact that we have driven hundreds of new users to their platform over the years.

This means that we have been forced to remove the built in short link creation quota. We tried our best to avoid this, but at this point Bitly wanted to charge us hundres of times what AmALfi makes each month from Pro upgrades in order for us to provide you with this functionality for free.

We have therefore taken the very difficult decision to make short link creation an AmALfi Pro only feature as short link creation now requires your own Bitly account to be useable.

If we had left things as they were, the new quota of just 10 new short links each month would have been used by our users within an hour of the new quota becoming available, rather than lasting at least 20 days and often the whole month. This would meang that a Pro upgrade would be required anyway to continue creating short links and we fealt that this was a confusing situation for our users and we didn't want that.

All is not lost, though. When you upgrade to AmALfi Pro you are still able to use your own free Bitly.com account to create short links. If you require more than the free 10 links that Bitly now offer all of their free plan customers then you are able to choose a Bitly subscripton plan that suits your own purposes.

We didn;t want to do this and we negotiated hard to find a solution that would allow us to keep a quota of free short links built into AmALfi, but just 10 links per month shared between thousands of users just was not going to work, and providingour previous level of free short links - which Bitly reduced by 99.9% with just a few weeks notice - was just not viable considering Bitly wanted to charge hundreds of times AmALfi's income.

The change to Pro only short links has been made in AmALfi v 2.9 (297), however becuase the quota has been reduced by Bitly users on earlier versions of AmALfi will simply receive the AmALfi error message that the free quota of short links has been used for the month.

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Image and Image+Text Links Discontinued by Amazon™
Date: January 2024

Amazon™ have removed support for product preview images and image+text iFrame widgets.

As of January 2024 they have shut down the amazon-adsystem.com server which previously served these link types, the result of which is that both new and existing/old image and iFrame URLs no longer work.

This applies to image and iFrame URLs created on Amazon's own Associates Central website as well as those created with third party tools like AmALfi.

This move by Amazon is unfortunate as it not only means that these links can no longer be created but because old URLs no longer work it will result in a lot of broken websites (We tried a quick Google search and found more than 5000 broken iFrame widgets).

AmALfi can only support features that Amazon support, and as Amazon have shut down this server and have removed the ability to create image and image+text links from both Associates Central and Site Stripe, we have been forced to remove these from AmALfi.

We will shortly be releasing an update to AmALfi which removes the image and image+text panels from the main screen, along with other associated menu options etc. We are, however, investigating what options are available to us to restore equivalent functionality as soon as possible.

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v2.8 released
Date: January 10, 2023

AmALfi v2.8 is now available via the Google Play Store.

This is a big new release, and probably the last update before v3.0.

v2.8 brings one new Amazon Associates region (Belgium), two new languages (French and German), bug fixes, and UI improvements particularly to the Browse Amazon screen.

As always, full release notes can be found here.

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v2.7 released
Date: June 10, 2022

AmALfi v2.7 is now available via the Google Play Store.

Almost as soon as we pushed the button to release v2.6, we became aware of two things:

Amazon™ had updated their official app, introducing new short sharing URL formats that AmALfi did not recognise.
We discovered the amazon.eg region had launched with the affiliate programme!

v2.7 brings both compatibilty with the new Amazon app sharing URL formats and the amazon.eg region.

As always, full release notes can be found here.

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v2.6 released
Date: June 01, 2022

AmALfi v2.6 is now available via the Google Play Store.

Along with the usual performance improvements, optimisations and a few bug fixes, this version another UI language translation as well as three new Amazon Affiliate regions.

v2.6 brings a Spanish interface to the app - the fourth most common language among our users after English, bringing the total number of translations to four with a couple more in development.

These translations will automatically be used if your system language is to one of these languages, however v2.6 also gives you the ability to manually over-ride you device's system language and force the AmALfi UI into your preferred language. (Note that on Android the changes oflanguages outside of the device system settings is not perfect, so you may find some UI elements do not translate correctly when using this language override.

We'd love to hear from any native speakers of all of the AmALfi UI languages with corrections and improvements for the translations.

v2.6 also adds support for three new Amazon Associates affiliate regions - Saudi Arabia (Amazon.sa), Poland (Amazon.pl) and Turkey (Amazon.com.tr - though this programme is believed to be by invite only currently).

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v2.5 released
Date: January 27, 2022

AmALfi v2.5 is now available via the Google Play Store.

Along with the usual performance improvements, optimisations and a few bug fixes, this version brings our first additional language translations.

v2.5 brings Portuguese and Italian interfaces to the app - the two most common languages among our users after English.

These translations will automatically be used if your system language is to one of these languages.

We'd love to hear from any native speakers of these languages with corrections and improvements for the translations.

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v2.5 beta available
Date: January 17, 2022

AmALfi v2.5 is now available to beta testers.

Along with the usual performance improvements, optimisations and a few bug fixes, this version brings our first additional language translations.

v2.5 brings Portuguese and Italian interfaces to the app - the two most common languages among our users after English.

We'd love to hear from any native speakers of these languages with improvements for the translations.

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v2.4 released
Date: October 25, 2021

A full nine months in the making, v2.4 takes AmALfi to new levels in terms of helping you share your affiliate links quickly and easily. It introduces a number of new features designed specifically to enable you to share links with less interaction so that you can get more links out there with less effort.

Not only does it make sharing links easier, it makes staying compliant with advertising laws easier - automatic, even!

Headline new features include automatic adding of affiliate disclaimers, product image downloads, inclusion of product descriptions where available and the inclusion of customizable fixed text to introduce each link. Full release notes, as always, can be found here.

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v2.3 released
Date: January 25, 2021

AmALfi v2.3 is now available from the Play store.

In addition to lots of internal changes, v2.3 adds support for amazon.se and adds full functionality to amazon.com.br.

The Brazil functionality was made possible thanks to Alan Douglas (Facebook: https://facebook.com/alandpr and Twitter: @alandpr) - thanks Alan

You can find full release notes here.

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100% of January short links quota used
Date: January 19, 2021

As of around 1730UTC today AmALfi has used 100% of its new amzn.to short links quota for January.

Creating new short links is no longer working for non-Pro users and those not using their own Bitly account.

New quota will be available from 1st February when short link creation will start working again for all users.

For more info about our Bitly short links quota see here.

AmALfi Pro users can avoid this limit by using their own Bitly account, see here.

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100% of December short links quota used
Date: December 27, 2020

As of around 2300 today AmALfi has used 100% of its new amzn.to short links quota for December.

Creating new short links is no longer working for non-Pro users and those not using their own Bitly account.

New quota will be available from 1st January when short link creation will start working again for all users.

For more info about our Bitly short links quota see here.

AmALfi Pro users can avoid this limit by using their own Bitly account, see here.

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50% of December short links quota used
Date: December 15, 2020

As of around 0900UTC today, AmALfi has used 50% of its new amzn.to short links quota for December.

For more info about our Bitly short links quota see here.

AmALfi Pro users can avoid this limit by using their own Bitly account, see here.

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v2.2 Released
Date: November 19, 2020

AmALfi v2.2 has now been released in plenty of time for Black Friday deals week.

The big new feature is a built-in Amazon™ browser with Instant Affiliate Link button that makes creating affiliate links even quicker and easier!

See release notes for full details.

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v2.2 beta hits Google Play Store
Date: November 16, 2020

The next version of AmALfi hit the Google Play Store for beta testers overnight and if testing goes well will be available in plenty of time for Black Friday deals week.

As well as the usual tweaks and small improvements, v2.2 brings a great new feature that makes creating affiliate links even quicker and easier - a built-in Amazon™ browser with Instant Affiliate Link button!

We also noticed that Amazon™ are using a new (?) URL format for their early Black Friday deals items. And while AmALfi was creating affiliate links from these without problems, it was not detecting the ASIN so was not creating image URLs or Image+Text (iFrame) links foe these items. It is now!

So, fingers crossed for the testing. Beta testers should receive the update now, and if testing goes well, everyone else should get the update by the end of this week!

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Prime Day and 95% of October short link quota used
Date: October 22, 2020

How did you find Prime Day this year?

Personally I was a bit disappointed with what was on offer, but it seems AmALfi users still found plenty to promote.

Over the two day event, non-Pro short link creation almost trippled for two days running and has taken the full since week to tail off back down to normal levels.

As a result, the non-Pro short link creation quota has taken a big hit this month, and at the time of writing has just hit 95%. This time yesterday we had just topped 90%, so it looks like the quota will be exhausted some time tomorrow.

Once the quota is exhausted, non-Pro users will be unable to create new amzn.to short links until 1st November when the new monthly quota kicks in. (Remember, this is a Bitly quota that is allocated to AmALfi by Bitly.com)

If you absolutely rely on short links, then an AmALfi Pro upgrade will allow you to use your own Bitly account and your own Bitly quota and therefore avoid AmALfi's limits. You can find out more about AmALfi Pro here.

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50% of September short link quota used
Date: September 16, 2020

As of 1641 UTC today AmALfi has used 50% of its short link creation quota for non-Pro users and users non using their own Bitly account.

If short links continue to be created at the current rate then the quota should not be exhausted in September.

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Version 2.1 released
Date: September 3, 2020

Version 2.1 released including NEW Instant Search Link generation - just enter a few keywords and get an affiliate link to search results.

See Release Notes for full details.

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New beta version released
Date: August 26, 2020

A new beta version of AmALfi has just hit Google Play for our beta testers.

The new version - v2.1 - includes a great new feature that was originally planned for v2.0 but was delayed due to a last minute redesign (redesigned to make it easier to use).

If you are already a beta tester you should receive the v2.1 update automatically via Google Play.

To join the beta test team and get access to new versions early click here.

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August quota for new amzn.to short links exhausted
Date: August 24, 2020

As of 0518UTC today, AmALfi has exhausted its new amzn.to short links generation quota for August.

New short link creation will not work for non-Pro users and other users using AmALfi's Bitly account.

It will start working again on 1st September.

See our FAQ for more information about the short links quota.

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August quota for new amzn.to short links 90% used
Date: August 21, 2020

As of 1408UTC today, AmALfi has used 90% of its new amzn.to short links quota for August.

New short link creation is expected to stop working for non-Pro users and other users using AmALfi's Bitly account by around 24th August and will only start working again on 1st September.

See our FAQ for more information about the short links quota.

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August quota for new amzn.to short links 50% used
Date: August 13, 2020

As of 1410UTC today, AmALfi has used 50% of its new amzn.to short links quota for August.

New short link creation is expected to stop working for non-Pro users and other users using AmALfi's Bitly account by around 26th August and will only start working again on 1st September.

See our FAQ for more information about the short links quota.

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July quota for new amzn.to short links exhausted
Date: July 24, 2020

As of 0840UTC this morning, AmALfi has used 100% of its new amzn.to short links quota for July.

New short link creation is therfore temporarily no longer working for non-Pro users and other users using AmALfi's Bitly account and will only start working again on 1st August.

See our FAQ for more information about the short links quota.

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July quota for new amzn.to short links quota 90% used
Date: July 22, 2020

As of 1730UTC this evening, AmALfi has used 90% of its new amzn.to short links quota for July.

New short link creation is expected to stop working for non-Pro users and other users using AmALfi's Bitly account by 25th July and will only start working again on 1st August.

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AmALfi v2 released
Date: July 8, 2020

Seven months in the making and AmALfi v2 is here.

v2 is a major milestone in AmALfi's devlopment because as well as general improvements and UI/UX tweaks, v2 also brings new functionality and a Pro version for heavy users.

And that's not all. As well as the changes you can see we have rewritten a lot of AmALfi's internal code and we've even laid the groundwork for some new features that we hope to reveal soon.

You can find full details of v2's changes on our Release Notes page.

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New Website
Date: July 8, 2020

To coincide with the launch of AmALfi v2.0 and the introduction of AmALfi Pro we decided to launch a full AmALfi website.

This is that site.

The purpose of the site is not only to promote AmALfi but also to collect as much useful information for our users in one place as possible.

We will continue to use our Social channels as well, but having a dedicated site gives you one place to find all things AmALfi.