The holiday season is in full swing, and with it comes the joy of gift giving.
If you’re planning to shop on Amazon this December, you might be wondering how to keep your purchases a 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 collected some smart tips and tricks to help you manage your holiday shopping hidden, so your thoughtful gifts remain surprises.
GET SAFETY ALERTS, EXPERT TIPS – SIGN UP FOR KURT’S NEWSLETTER – THE CYBERGUY REPORT HERE
Amazon website on computer screen (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
1. Create a separate Amazon account
One of the easiest ways to keep your gift purchases secret is to create a separate Amazon account just for buying gifts. This way you can avoid sharing your order history, recommendations, and wish lists with anyone else using your main account.
You can also use a different email address and phone number for your gift account so that you don’t receive delivery notifications or emails that might give away your gifts.
If you don’t have one yet, Here’s how to get a cheap Amazon Prime membership.
A woman shopping through the Amazon app (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
9 BEST FEATURES OF AMAZON PRIME YOU MAY NOT KNOW
2. Enable Amazon Household
This is perhaps the simplest solution. Amazon Household is an Amazon feature that lets you share your Prime benefits with the family. You can create up to two adult accounts, four teen accounts, and four child profiles. Amazon Household keeps all in-store purchases and shipping notifications separate. So you don’t have to worry about your Christmas gift being revealed before you give it out.
Amazon Household not only lets you keep your purchases separate, but it also lets you share eBooks, audiobooks, digital content, and games.
Create your Amazon household here.
KURT’S BEST HOLIDAY DEAL CHOICES
Image from Amazon Household ad (Amazon)
5 SECRETS TO SHOP SMARTER ON AMAZON
3. Hide or archive your orders
Another option to keep your gift purchases secret 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 only works on a desktop or laptop browser (not on a tablet or mobile device).
- Sign in to your Amazon account.
- Click Returns and orders in the top right corner. A list of your orders from the past three months will appear.
- Scroll to find the item you want to hide. You will see it below the item Archive order. A window will appear asking you to select Archive order again. If you don’t see it Archive order, select View order details to the right of the purchased item. Select on the right Archive order.
Steps to archive an order on Amazon (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Even though the item no longer appears in Your Orders, you can still view it Archived orders by Your account.
KURT’S CHOICE FOR DELETING YOUR PERSONAL DATA FROM THE INTERNET – 65% OFF SALE ENDS TOMORROW
4. Disable shipping notifications and tracking
If you don’t want to receive shipping notifications or tracking information for your gift purchases, you can also turn them off in your Amazon account. This will prevent you from receiving emails, text messages, or push notifications that could reveal your gifts.
To disable shipping notifications and tracking in Amazon, you can follow these steps:
- Open the Amazon app on your phone open the menu and tap Institutions
- Tap the Notifications option in the list
- To expand the types of notifications you don’t want to receive, such as ‘Shipping notifications’, ‘Delivery notifications’, ‘Returns and order updates’, etc.
WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?
A woman holiday shopping on her laptop (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
5. Hide from Alexa
If you have real sleuths in your household, you’ll need to do more than just archive your purchases to ensure your gifts are still surprises. You can start by changing your Alexa settings.
- Open the Alexa app
- Click Institutions
- Search and select Notifications, then select Amazon shopping
- Scroll to Say or show item titles. Flip the switches out for “For items in delivery updates,” “For items in returns updates,” and “Includes items in your cart that are marked as gifts or items that may be gifts during major holidays.”
Now Alexa will still notify you when a package is delivered, but not which item it is.
An Alexa device on top of a laptop (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
6. Clear your ‘Search History’
We all have that one ruthless person, determined to find out what gifts were bought this year. Another step to keep them off your tracks is to delete your ‘Search History’.
The following only works on a desktop or laptop browser (not on a tablet or mobile device).
- Go to Account & Lists in the top right corner of your browser, then select Recommendations
- Click Your browsing history (text in gray strip at the top of the screen)
- Select the gear icon on the right side of the page. This opens one Institutions window.
- Click Remove items from view knob
- All items you recently reviewed have been deleted.
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 prevent your packages from being left at your home or seen by anyone else in your household. Amazon Locker and Amazon Hub are secure, self-service kiosks where you can pick up and return your Amazon packages at your convenience.
Image of an Amazon locker (Amazon)
To use Amazon Locker or Amazon Hub:
- Go to Account and lists and click Your addresses
- Then click Find a Locker or Hub location and enter your zip code or city
- Then you can select one location and add it to your address book.
- When you checkout, you can choose the Locker or Hub location as your location shipping address.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
8. Use gift options during checkout
When you buy 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 have the item gift wrapped, which not only adds a nice touch, but also prevents anyone from seeing the product until it is unpacked.
Gift message: You can add a personal message to be printed on the packing slip to make it clear that it is a gift and not a regular purchase.
No price information: When you select gift options, Amazon typically does not include price information on the packing slip, which hides the cost of the gift from the recipient.
To use this feature, select the ‘This is a gift’ checkbox during checkout and follow the prompts to adjust your order accordingly. This extra layer of discretion can greatly increase your ability to keep your purchases under wraps until the big reveal.
SUBSCRIBE TO KURT’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL FOR QUICK VIDEO TIPS ON HOW TO WORK WITH ALL YOUR TECH DEVICES
Kurt’s most important insights
As the holidays approach, keeping your Amazon gift purchases a secret can add an extra layer of excitement to your celebrations. With these simple strategies, you can shop with confidence, knowing your surprises will be hidden until the perfect moment. From creating separate accounts to using gift options at checkout, each tip is designed to help you maintain that magical element of surprise.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Has anyone ever had a surprise gift spoiled? If so, what happened and how did you handle it? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report newsletter by visiting Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.
Ask Kurt a question or let us know which stories you would like us to cover.
Follow Kurt on his social channels:
Answers to the most frequently asked CyberGuy questions:
New from Kurt:
Kurt’s choices:
Copyright 2024 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
