How to Keep Amazon From Spoiling Your Surprise Gifts
When you share the same Amazon account with a partner and / or kids, it can be quite difficult to surprise purchases. Amazon tracks your search history (and then shows you ads), orders are easily viewed, and there are many notifications coming in between the moment you place an order and the moment it arrives at your doorstep. Essentially, home gifts through Amazon can be both a huge convenience and a huge headache.
So what if you really want to keep your gifts a secret until they open?
Set up Amazon Household
This is an absolute must if you split your Amazon account to get the Prime benefits. Amazon Household allows multiple users – two adults, four teens, and four children – to have profiles under the same account. Each profile can sign in and shop separately (children under 13 cannot shop), but still enjoy the benefits of Prime shipping and other general Amazon perks.
With separate (but linked) accounts, the search and order history is not visible to other Amazon Household members , so you can shop and shop with some privacy.
However, keep in mind that a highly motivated observer may still see what you ordered if you’ve used each other’s logins in the past and haven’t changed your passwords. Plus, payment methods are shared by family members, so your partner can at least know that something is coming from Amazon if they check those claims.
Archive Gift Orders from Amazon
If you don’t have Amazon Household set up, or think gift recipients might view your account, archive orders so they don’t end up on your main order list. To do this, go to the “Returns and Orders” section (or ” Accounts and Lists”> “Orders” ) and click the ” Archive Order” option under the gift.
Again, an adventurous family member can look for them (found under Accounts & Lists> Accounts> Archived Orders ), but at least it makes the gifts less visible.
Update notification settings and search history
Amazon will send you emails and possibly text messages, depending on your current settings, with order updates. Fortunately, you can change the email address and phone number for receiving these notifications if you are concerned about them being delivered to the recipient of the gift. Go to Accounts & Lists> Your Account> Communication and Content and select either Text Submit Updates or Communication Options to update where submission notifications will be sent.
In Accounts & Lists> Browsing History, you can edit or clear your search history to hide your gift purchases.
Change shipping addresses or use Amazon Locker
If Amazon parcels are common in your home and there is a risk that someone will open the gift without hesitation, select Amazon Locker as the shipping option when you pay. Your package will be sent to a secure locker of your choice – or you can send a gift to a friend’s house or your office.
Turn on “Don’t spoil my surprises”
Finally, if you hate it when the surprises that are meant for you get messed up, you can check the settings on any Amazon wishlists you share with potential donors. The “Don’t spoil my surprises” feature, in which purchased gifts are saved in the list as unredeemed for several weeks, is enabled by default. You can verify that this is the case by selecting your wishlist and clicking the three dots> Manage List . Check the “Don’t spoil my surprises” box if it is not checked.