How to permanently delete your Amazon account

Like most Big Tech companies, Amazon doesn’t make it easy to stop using their services. But with a little bit of effort, you can permanently wipe your account from Amazon’s databases—including all your personal data, your credit card information, and your purchase history.

Read more: 5 ways Amazon spies on you (even if you’re not a customer)

What to know before you delete your Amazon account

Deleting your Amazon account is a big decision, mainly because it is irreversible. Once your deletion has been processed, no one, not even Amazon customer support, can revive your account or retrieve your data ever again.

For this reason you may want to reconsider whether permanent deletion is really right for you. For example, if you want to cut down on your spending, consider simply removing your payment methods instead. Or if you no longer feel like Amazon Prime is worth the money, consider unsubscribing without closing your account. If you close your account, you’ll lose all access to your order history and many other details that may be useful to you later.

Closing your account also means you will lose access to the entire suite of Amazon services, not just the online shopping site. You’ll no longer be able to watch content on Prime Video or use Amazon Pay as a payment method on other e-commerce sites.

But if you’re still determined to completely cut ties with Amazon, here’s a step-by-step guide:

How to delete your Amazon account

1. Go to Close Your Amazon Account.
2. Sign into the account you want to delete permanently.

3. Carefully review the list of products and services you’ll no longer have access to after you close your account, including all the files and data that will be deleted. If you need to download any important files stored with Amazon, such as photos or videos, you should do so before proceeding.

4. At the bottom of the page, choose a reason from the dropdown menu.

5. Check the box next to “Yes, I want to permanently close my Amazon Account and delete my data.”

6. Click the button marked, “Close My Account”

You’ll receive an email from Account-close@amazon.com with the subject, “Confirmation Required To Close Amazon Account”.

7. Scroll to the bottom and click the button marked, “Confirm Account Closure”.

You’ll be taken to a confirmation page with a green checkmark and success message that reads, “Your Request To Close Your Amazon Account Has Been Confirmed.”

Congratulations! Your Amazon account is no more.

What data gets deleted when you close your account?

Amazon owns a large suite of products and services, far beyond the online shopping hub most people associate with the name “Amazon”. For example, Audible, Whole Foods, Kindle, and Prime Video are all linked through your Amazon account. So when you close your Amazon account, you’ll lose access to your data on these services and will have to create a new account to use them again.

Here’s a partial list of services you’ll be deleting along with your Amazon account:

• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Amazon Prime
• Amazon Pay
• comiXology
• Whole Foods Market
• IMDbPro
• Amazon Photos (and Amazon Drive)
• Prime Video
• Amazon Music
• Audible
• Amazon Kindle
• Amazon Appstore

Any Amazon hardware devices (e.g., Kindle, Alexa, Echo, Fire TV) you own will also lose access to your account. You may have to create a new Amazon account and re-register these devices to use them again.

Can you recover a deleted Amazon account?

No. Once deleted, an Amazon account cannot be recovered, by you or by anyone else. To buy things on Amazon or use any Amazon services again, you’ll need to create a new account.