How to delete your Amazon account and what happens when you do

• You can delete your Amazon account via the “Close your Amazon Account” page. 
• Deleting your account means losing access to Amazon products like Audible, Alexa, and Kindle.
• There are other options if you still want access to those products, but don’t want a Prime account.

Amazon can be a useful platform, but it isn’t right for everyone. If you’ve decided that you no longer want your Amazon account, you have the option to delete it. But it’s important to know what that means. 

If you aren’t willing to give up everything that comes with an Amazon account, you can try alternative methods, like increasing the security on your account.

How to delete Amazon account

You can only delete your Amazon account on the desktop version of the website, not on the mobile app.

1. Go to the Close Your Amazon Account page and sign in to the Amazon account that you want to delete.

2. Review the products and services for that account and, if you still want to proceed, select a reason for deleting your account from the drop-down menu.

Choose your reason for closing the account.

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3. Tick the box next to Yes, I want to permanently close my Amazon account and delete my data.

Check the box.

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4. Click Close my Account.

5. You’ll receive an email confirmation. Reply to this email within five days to delete your account.

Note: If you want to use Amazon again in the future, you’d have to create a new account.

If you have outstanding orders that haven’t shipped yet, you can also cancel those:

1. Go into the Orders page of your account.

2. Choose Not yet shipped.

Select “Not yet shipped” to see your outstanding orders.

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3. Select Request cancellation next to the outstanding order.

What happens when you delete your Amazon account

Deleting your Amazon account means giving up all its products and services. The process is permanent, so it’s important to understand what you’re losing:

• Alexa
• Audible account
• Kindle Direct Publishing account
• Amazon gift cards
• Access to your Amazon order history
• Digital products, like Prime Video purchases
• Your Amazon reviews
• Your discussion posts
• Amazon Pay
• Amazon devices, like Kindle and Echo
• Amazon Flex account

Alternatives to deleting your Amazon account

You can make your account more secure without fully deleting it. So if you’ve purchased content that you don’t want to lose access to, or if you use a Firestick, but don’t want to have a prime membership anymore, try following options.

Delete your credit card information

1. Go to the Amazon website, hover over the Accounts and Lists tab on the homepage, and choose Account.

Go into your Amazon account section.

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2. Select Your Payments.

Choose “Your Payments.”

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3. Click Edit under the desired payment option and choose Remove from wallet.

4. Hit Confirm remove.

Confirm your choice to delete the payment method.

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Delete your shipping addresses

1. Go to the Amazon website, hover over the Accounts and Lists tab on the homepage, and choose Account.

2. Select Your Addresses.

Go into the addresses section of your Amazon account.

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3. Locate the shipping address you want to delete and choose Remove.

Remove the unwanted address.

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Update your email and phone number

Updating your email address and phone number can be useful, especially if you have set up two-factor authentication.

1. Go to the Amazon website, hover over the Accounts & Lists tab on the homepage, and choose Account.

2. Select Login & security.

Go into the “Login & security” section.

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3. Enter your account password, if asked.

4. Click Edit next to your email address and update your information, following the prompts. Then repeat the process for your phone number.

Select “Edit” to make changes to your email address or phone number.

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Turn on two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication is a security measure that requires an extra step of verification to access your account. So rather than just requiring a password, you might also have to enter a code from a text that’s sent to the phone number associated with your account. So it’s more secure.

You can turn on two-factor authentication for your Amazon account by going into the Accounts & Lists tab on the Amazon homepage, and choosing Account. From there, click Login & security and edit your Two-step verification settings.

Devon Delfino

Devon Delfino is a Brooklyn-based freelance journalist specializing in personal finance, culture, politics, and identity. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Los Angeles Times, Teen Vogue, Business Insider, and CNBC. Follow her on Twitter at 

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