Amazon makes shopping incredibly convenient, but sometimes, you don’t want your order history lingering around forever. Maybe you bought a surprise gift, something embarrassing, or just want to declutter your digital footprint. But here’s the catch—Amazon doesn’t actually let you delete your order history. Frustrating, right?
Before you panic, there are still ways to hide or manage your order history effectively. In this guide, I’ll walk you through what you can and can’t do, alternative solutions, and extra privacy tips to keep your Amazon activity under wraps.
Can You Delete Your Amazon Order History?
Short answer: No. Amazon doesn’t provide an option to delete your purchase history. Every order you’ve ever made remains permanently logged in your account.
Longer answer: While outright deletion isn’t possible, you can archive orders, hide them from your default order list, and take additional steps to keep your Amazon activity private.
How to Archive Amazon Orders (The Next Best Thing)
Archiving an order removes it from your main order history, making it harder to find. While it won’t be gone, it’ll be tucked away in a separate section.
Steps to Archive an Amazon Order:
- Go to Amazon’s website (desktop preferred, since the option isn’t available in the app).
- Sign in to your account and head to Your Orders.
- Find the order you want to hide.
- Click Archive Order (you’ll find this under order details).
- Confirm your choice, and the order moves to your Archived Orders section.
Where to Find Archived Orders:
Go to Your Account > Ordering and Shopping Preferences > Archived Orders.
If you ever need to access them, they’re just a few clicks away.
Hiding Your Amazon Orders from Family Members
If you share an Amazon account with family members (or use an Alexa device that likes to spill secrets), keeping orders private can be tricky. Here’s how to keep things under wraps:
Use Amazon Household for Separate Accounts
Amazon Household allows multiple people to share Prime benefits while keeping their order history private. If you and your partner or kids use the same account, setting this up can prevent them from snooping.
How to Set Up Amazon Household:
- Go to Amazon Household settings.
- Invite a family member using their email. They’ll get access to Prime benefits, but their order history remains separate from yours.
Turn Off Alexa Order Notifications
Alexa has a habit of announcing deliveries, which can ruin surprises. To stop this:
- Open the Alexa app.
- Go to Settings > Notifications > Amazon Shopping.
- Turn off “Say or show item titles”.
Clearing Your Amazon Browsing History
Even if you archive orders, Amazon’s browsing history keeps track of what you’ve viewed. This can be a problem if you’re planning a surprise purchase or don’t want targeted ads reminding you of past searches.
How to Delete Your Amazon Browsing History:
- Go to Amazon.com and sign in.
- Hover over Browsing History (top-right of the page).
- Click Manage History.
- Select Remove All Items or delete specific ones manually.
- Toggle Turn Browsing History Off to stop Amazon from tracking your views in the future.
Using Incognito Mode to Prevent Tracking
While Amazon still logs your orders, using Incognito Mode (Private Browsing) can prevent it from saving your searches and viewing history on your device. It won’t stop Amazon from tracking your account activity, but it does prevent others from seeing what you’ve browsed if they use the same computer.
How to Enable Incognito Mode:
- Chrome: Ctrl + Shift + N
- Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + P
- Safari: File > New Private Window
Deleting Your Amazon Account (The Nuclear Option)
If you’re looking for the ultimate clean slate, deleting your Amazon account is the only way to erase your order history permanently. Keep in mind that this action is irreversible—you’ll lose access to all Amazon services, including Kindle purchases, Audible books, and Prime benefits.
Steps to Delete Your Amazon Account:
- Go to Amazon’s Customer Support page.
- Scroll down to “Close Your Amazon Account”.
- Click Request to Close Your Account and follow the instructions.
- Amazon will email you for final confirmation.
Once confirmed, your account and all order history will be erased permanently.
FAQs: Managing Your Amazon Order History
Can I delete digital orders from my history?
No, but you can archive them just like physical orders. If you bought an embarrassing Kindle book, it will still be in your Content & Devices section.
Will archiving an order remove it from my account permanently?
No, it just hides it from the main orders page. You can still find archived orders in your account settings.
Does Amazon share my order history with advertisers?
Amazon uses your purchase data to personalize ads, but you can limit ad tracking by adjusting your Ad Preferences in your account settings.
Final Thoughts: Stay in Control of Your Amazon Privacy
While you can’t fully delete your Amazon order history, archiving orders, managing your browsing history, and using Amazon Household can help keep your shopping private. If you’re serious about wiping the slate clean, closing your account is the only real option—but for most people, a few privacy tweaks will do the trick.
Need more Amazon privacy tips? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll dig up more ways to keep your online shopping habits under wraps!