Holiday season In full swing, and with it comes the joy of gift giving.
If you're planning to shop on Amazon this December, you're probably wondering how to keep your purchases secret until the big reveal. Whether you're surprising a loved one or treating a friend, maintaining that element of surprise can be a challenge in today's online shopping landscape. But don't worry.
We've rounded up some clever tips and tricks to help you keep your wits about you Holiday shopping Under the covers, ensuring your thoughtful gifts remain surprises.
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Amazon website on a computer screen (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutson)
1. Create a separate Amazon account
One of the easiest ways to keep your gift purchases private is to create a separate Amazon account for gift purchases only. This way, you can avoid sharing your order history, recommendations, and wish lists with anyone else who uses your main account.
You can also use a different email address and phone number for your gift account, so you won't receive any delivery notifications or emails that might give away your gifts.
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2. Turn on Amazon Home
This may be the simplest solution. Amazon Home It's an Amazon feature that lets you share your Prime benefits with family. You can create up to two adult accounts, four teen profiles, and four kids profiles. Amazon Family keeps all shopping purchases and shipping notifications separate. So, you don't have to worry about revealing your Christmas gift before giving it.
With Amazon House, you can not only keep your purchases separate, but you can also share e-books, audiobooks, digital content, and games.
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Image of an Amazon home ad (Amazon)
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3. Hide or archive your requests
Another option for Keep your gift purchases confidential It is to hide or archive your orders on your Amazon account. This will remove them from your default order history view, so they won't appear when you or anyone else checks your recent orders. The following will just work on Desktop or laptop browser (Not on a tablet or mobile device).
- Log in to your Amazon account.
- Click Returns and orders In the upper right corner. A list of your orders from the past three months will appear.
- Scroll to find the item you want to hide. Below you will find this item Archive arrangement. A window will appear, and you will need to select Archive arrangement once again. If you don't see archive arrangement, He chooses View order details To the right of the purchased item. On the right side, select Archive arrangement.
Steps to archive an order on Amazon (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutson)
Even though the item will no longer appear in your orders, you can still view it Archived requests from Your account.
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4. Turn off shipping notifications and tracking
If you don't want to receive any shipping notifications or tracking information for your gift purchases, you can also turn them off on your Amazon account. This will prevent you from receiving any emails, text messages or notifications that may reveal your gifts.
To turn off shipping notifications and tracking on Amazon, you can follow these steps:
- Open Amazon app On your phone, open Menu And click Settings
- Click on Notifications option in the menu
- revocation Types of notifications you don't want to receive, such as Shipping Notifications, Delivery Notifications, Returns and Order Updates, etc.
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Woman shopping while on vacation on her laptop (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutson)
5. Hide from Alexa
Now, if you have some real life detectives in your home, you'll need to do more than just archive your purchases to make sure your gifts are still surprises. You can start by changing your Alexa settings.
- Open Alexa application
- Click Settings
- Search and choose notices, Then select Shop Amazon
- Scroll to Say or show item titles. Switch keys on For “For items in delivery updates,” “For items in return updates,” and “Including items in your shopping cart that are marked as gifts or that may be gifts during major holidays.”
Now, Alexa will still notify you when a package is delivered, but it won't say what the item is.
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The Alexa device sits on top of a laptop (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutson)
6. Clear your Search History
We all have that relentless person, determined to figure out what gifts were purchased this year. Another step to keep them off your tracks is to delete your Search History.
The following will just work on Desktop or laptop browser (Not on a tablet or mobile device).
- Go to Account and lists in the upper right corner of your browser, Then select Recommendations
- Click Your browsing history (text in a gray bar towards the top of the screen)
- Select the gear icon on the right part of the page. This will open a Settings window.
- Click Remove items from view button
- All items you have recently reviewed have been removed.
7. Use Amazon Locker or Amazon Hub
If you don't want your gift purchases delivered to your home address, you can also use Amazon Locker or Amazon Hub to pick them up at a nearby location. This way, you can avoid leaving your packages on your doorstep or seeing them by anyone else in your home. Amazon Locker and Amazon Hub are secure, self-service kiosks where you can pick up and return your Amazon packages at a time that suits you.
Picture of an Amazon closet (Amazon)
To use Amazon Locker or Amazon Hub:
- Go to Account and lists And click on Your addresses
- Then press Find the location of the cabinet or hub And enter your zip code or city
- You can then select A location And add it to your address book.
- When you check out, you can choose the locker or center location as your location Shipping address.
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8. Use gift options during checkout
When you purchase gifts on Amazon, you can take advantage of the gift options available at checkout. This feature allows you to mark items as gifts, which can help maintain confidentiality in several ways.
Gift wrapping: You can choose to gift wrap the product, which not only adds a nice touch, but also prevents anyone from seeing the product until it is unwrapped.
Gift message: You can include a personal message that will be printed on the packing slip, explaining that it is a gift and not a regular purchase.
No information on price: When selecting gift options, Amazon typically does not include pricing information on the packing slip, which helps keep the cost of the gift hidden from the recipient.
To use this feature, simply select the “This is a gift” checkbox during checkout and follow the prompts to customize your order accordingly. This extra layer of discretion can greatly enhance your ability to keep your purchases under wraps until the big reveal.
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With the holiday festivities right around the corner, keeping your Amazon gift purchases a secret can add an extra layer of excitement to your celebrations. With these straightforward strategies, you can shop with confidence, knowing that your surprises will remain hidden until the perfect moment. From creating separate accounts to using gift options at checkout, every tip is designed to help you maintain that magical element of surprise.
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