Did you find your loved one a perfect present on Amazon using our holiday gift guide? Here are some strategies to make sure the surprise doesn’t get spoiled by slipups like Amazon delivery notifications, visible product searches, or a chatty Alexa.
Set Up an Amazon Household
If you share an Amazon account with the gift recipient, one of the easiest ways to keep your present under wraps is to set up an Amazon Household.
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This allows up to two adults, four teens, and four children to all share the benefits of a single Amazon Prime membership, but for the adults to still maintain separate profiles with private product recommendations, purchase histories, and delivery tracking and notifications.
To set up an Amazon Household on your computer, go to Accounts & Lists > Prime Membership > Manage Your Household. On the Amazon Shopping app, go to Your Account > Manage Prime Membership and scroll down to “Share Your Prime Benefits.”
Archive Your Orders
It’s easy to hide past purchases from potential snoopers. Just head to Your Orders and look beneath each purchase for the option to “Archive Order.” That doesn’t dispatch it for good: You can access up to 500 archived orders by going to Accounts & Lists > Account > Archived Orders on your computer. You can’t archive orders directly from the Amazon Shopping app, but once you do so on your computer, they’ll be concealed on the app, too.
Manage Your Notifications
You can’t completely turn off Amazon notifications—you’ll always get alerted when you make a purchase and when it’s shipped and delivered—but you can change where those notifications go. From the Amazon homepage, go to Accounts & Lists > Account > Communication Preferences to change which email address receives alerts. You can also change who receives text alerts by going to Accounts & Lists > Account > Shipment Updates via Text.
To pause notifications from the Amazon Shopping app, go to Settings on an iPhone or iPad > Notifications, and shift the setting for Amazon to “Off.” To do the same on Android, go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Notifications, and set Amazon to “Off.” Keep in mind this will only stop Amazon alerts from coming to the device that you used to adjust the settings. Amazon can still reach you in other ways, like email or smart speaker notifications.
That’s why you should also silence chatty Alexa, before your smart speaker announces that packages have been delivered at your door. Within the Amazon Alexa app, go to Settings > Notifications > Amazon Shopping. Under “Let Alexa say or show titles for items you’ve ordered,” turn off “For items in delivery updates.”
Clear (or Pause) Your Browsing History
Your browsing history can easily give away a gift idea if others use your account. Delete recent product searches by clicking on the search bar and then the “X” next to a product you’d like to remove. You can also go to Accounts & Lists > Browsing History and remove products that way. If you click on the Settings gear icon on the right-hand side, you can remove all the items in your browsing history at once or simply turn off your browsing history for a period of time while you shop.
Tidy Up Your Product Recommendations
Even if you’ve cleared your browsing and search history, your product recommendations are separate and can still be telling. Spend too much time searching for a Le Creuset Dutch oven and your account’s recommended Dutch ovens and enamel pans will likely tip your hand to the chef in your life. To remove certain items from your recommendations, go to Accounts & Lists > Recommendations, and then select “Improve Your Recommendations” from the top menu bar. From there, you can deselect individual products.
Change Your Delivery Location
Even with your Amazon account scrubbed clean, the package itself can still give your surprise away, so picking up your package elsewhere can be a smart idea. When choosing shipping for your order, select “Choose Your Pickup Location” to find nearby options, like a designated Amazon locker or Amazon Counter at a Whole Foods Market.
Courtney Lindwall
Courtney Lindwall is a writer at Consumer Reports. Since joining CR in 2023, she’s covered the latest on cell phones, smartwatches, and fitness trackers as part of the tech team. Previously, Courtney reported on environmental and climate issues for the Natural Resources Defense Council. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.
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