How to Delete Your Amazon Account Permanently: An Extensive 2022 Guide

Are you considering cutting ties with Amazon for good? Permanently deleting your Amazon buyer account is possible, but the process is irreversible. This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know beforehand, detail the deletion steps, and provide helpful shopping alternatives.

As an experienced e-commerce analyst, I have extensively researched the Amazon account closure process so I can advise you one-on-one through permanent deletion. By the end, you’ll understand exactly what happens when you delete an Amazon account, how to handle any pending orders or balances beforehand, plus find the best alternative shopping platforms for your needs going forward.

We’ll cover key topics like:

• Impacts of account deletion
• Step-by-step account closure walkthrough
• Pending order and balance considerations
• Privacy concerns and data retention
• Viable Amazon alternatives
• Amazon’s 25+ year growth history
• FAQ responses to common account questions

Let’s get started exploring how to permanently delete your Amazon account.

Overview: How Amazon Account Deletion Works

Before diving into the account removal process, I want to provide some top-level insight into what happens when you permanently delete an Amazon account:

• You forfeit access to any digital content purchases made, whether Kindle books, Amazon Prime Video titles or Amazon Music albums. These licenses are tied specifically to your account only.

• Any current gift card balance or Amazon credit in your account will be revoked during closure. Be sure to spend these prior to deletion.

• Your entire unique order history and records of past purchases will be erased from Amazon’s systems. This data enables your personalized recommendations.

• Algorithmic product/content recommendations and account preferences built from your browsing/purchase behavior will be eliminated.

• Benefits like free shipping and entertainment streaming tied to your Amazon Prime membership will end immediately when your account closes.

• Though Amazon claims all personal data is erased with account deletion, privacy advocates caution that select records may persist internally up to 90 days before permanent data removal.

Now that you know the key impacts of account deletion, let me walk you through how to permanently delete your Amazon account step-by-step.

Step-By-Step Guide to Delete Your Amazon Account

Use these detailed instructions to sign in and locate the correct account closure options on both desktop and mobile:

On Desktop

1. Navigate to Amazon.com and sign into your account using your email address and password. Ensure you are logged into the correct buyer account that you wish to delete.

2. Hover over “Account & Lists” located at the very top right of the page, then select “Your Account” from the dropdown menu.

   

3. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the Your Account page and locate the “Ordering and shopping preferences” section. Click on Close your Amazon account in the right column.

   

4. Select the main reason why you wish to permanently close your Amazon account. Then read their overview of impacts before confirming your understanding that account deletion is irreversible.

5. Check the box to confirm permanent account closure and associated data deletion. Without confirming closure here, your account will remain open.

   

6. Lastly, click the yellow Close my account button to initiate closure. Amazon will now send a confirmation email which you must click within 5 days to permanently delete everything.

And you’re done! Just be sure to click the unique account deletion link within the confirmation email Amazon sends following these steps. Then your Amazon account will be permanently closed and removed from their systems.

Now let me quickly cover how to locate the account deletion options from the Amazon mobile shopping app:

On Mobile

1. Open the latest version of the Amazon shopping app on your iPhone, Android device or tablet. Sign into your account if not already logged in.

2. Tap the hamburger menu icon in the upper left corner to expand the sidebar naviation menu.

3. Scroll down and select Your Account. This displays all settings and options tied to your Amazon account.

   

4. Under Account Settings, scroll down tap on Close your Amazon account. Then follow steps 4-6 above!

Easy right? But before pulling the trigger to delete your account, let’s discuss how to handle pending orders and gift card balances.

Pending Amazon Orders When Deleting Account

If you request account closure while Amazon orders are still processing or pending, those orders may automatically be canceled when your account gets deleted.

To avoid surprises, I strongly recommend reviewing the status of all recent purchases before deletion:

• Under Your Account > Orders, check for any purchases still pending shipment or delivery.

• Also verify you have no pending transactions under Your Payments options that could get interrupted.

• Use any remaining gift card balance or Amazon credit in your account now. These will be revoked during deletion.

Handling these outstanding orders and balances beforehand ensures you don‘t lose access to any items still making their way to you!

Now that you know how to manage pending orders, let‘s explore popular alternative shopping platforms to Amazon.

What Are the Top Amazon Alternative Websites?

I recommend evaluating these highly-rated alternative retailers with competitive pricing, quality selection and strong reputations:

Amazon Alternatives Comparison

I suggest new Amazon defectors try a few alternatives to find which best fits your preferences. Comparison shop prices for items previously bought on Amazon to score the best deals possible!

Let’s also examine popular Amazon Prime replacements that retain some membership perks:

• Walmart+ provides free next-day or 2-day shipping with no minimum order value, plus member fuel discounts.

• The Target RedCard equals 5% instant savings plus 30-day free returns and free 2-day shipping.

• Best Buy Totaltech grants 24/7 tech support, product protection plans and extended return windows for $199/year.

With so many alternative online and omnichannel retailers, consumers do have power to divert spending away from Amazon if desired.

Next let‘s briefly recap Amazon‘s 25+ year history that led to their market dominance before we delete your account for good!

The History and Growth of Amazon (1994-2022)

To understand how Amazon attained such immense market power, consider these major milestones over 25+ years:

• 1994 – Former hedge fund VP Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, originally selling books online out of his Seattle garage on July 5th

• 1997 – After rapid growth, Amazon held its initial public stock offering (IPO) right as ecommerce fever hit during the dot-com boom

• 2007 – Amazon taps into the rise of e-readers by releasing Kindle devices and establishing their proprietary ebook ecosystem

• 2015 – Third party seller sales on the Amazon Marketplace platform surpass Amazon direct retail sales for the first time

• 2018 – Accelerated diversification and cloud dominance led Amazon to hit a $1 trillion total market valuation

• Today – Fueled by the pandemic ecommerce boom, Amazon now captures over 40% of all online retail sales in the United States

After establishing such a massive share of multiple industries including retail, web services and smart speakers, many consumers want to shift spending elsewhere. Deleting your Amazon account completely allows you to shop competitors.

Now let‘s wrap up with an FAQ covering common questions around permanently removing Amazon accounts:

FAQ: Your Top Amazon Account Deletion Questions Answered

Here I‘ll address the questions consumers most frequently ask about closing an Amazon account permanently:

Can I reopen my Amazon account at some point after deleting?

No, after an account is deleted that action is irreversible. You cannot reactive or reopen the closed account, and would have to create a brand new account instead.

What if I change my mind – can I stop or cancel deletion after requesting it?

Unfortunately account deletion cannot be reversed, stopped or canceled once you have requested permanent closure. This is why confirming your understanding of impacts beforehand is so important.

If I create a new account later, will any of my purchase history be retained?

No, your entire order history and any other personalized account details are permanently erased from Amazon‘s systems when closure is complete. None of this unique data can be recovered down the line.

Could someone else re-open my account later if they obtain my old credentials?

No, even if someone had your prior Amazon login credentials, once an account enters deletion state those credentials no longer grant site access. Only creating a brand new account works at that stage.

Does Amazon keep my personal data or usage history after I delete my account?

Amazon claims your entire account record, unique identifiers, browsing data and purchase activity history are fully deleted upon account closure completion. However, privacy advocacy groups caution that select records may persist in internal data warehouses up to 90 days. So if absolute and immediate data erasure is vital to you when closing your account, total removal cannot be guaranteed by Amazon right away. But data should be permanently deleted within that typical 90 day window.

I hope this guide has given you deep, comprehensive advice around permanently deleting your Amazon account. While it can feel daunting to leave such an established ecosystem, consumers increasingly want to support competitive alternative retailers. Equipped with the right information, you can make the best choice for your needs.

Please reach out with any other questions not covered above! I‘m happy to offer personalized guidance based on my years of e-commerce industry research and analysis.