all-in-one privacy solution":["Proton Unlimited is een all-in-one privacy-oplossing"],"Black Friday":["Black Friday"],"No ads. Privacy by default.":["Geen advertenties. Standaard privacy."],"People before profits":["Mensen vóór winst"],"Security through transparency":["Veiligheid door openheid"],"The best Proton Mail ${ BLACK_FRIDAY } deals":["De beste ${ BLACK_FRIDAY }-deals voor Proton Mail"],"The world’s only community- supported email service":["'s Werelds enige door de community ondersteunde e-mailservice"]},"specialoffer:limited":{"${ hours } hour":["${ hours } uur","${ hours } uur"],"${ hoursLeft }, ${ minutesLeft } and ${ secondsLeft } left":["Nog ${ hoursLeft }, ${ minutesLeft } en ${ secondsLeft } resterend"],"${ minutes } minute":["${ minutes } minuut","${ minutes } minuten"],"${ seconds } second":["${ seconds } seconde","${ seconds } seconden"],"Limited time offer":["Aanbieding beperkt geldig"]},"specialoffer:listitem":{"Create multiple addresses":["Maak meerdere e-mailadressen aan"],"Hide-my-email aliases":["Hide-my-email-aliassen"],"Quickly unsubscribe from newsletters":["Meld u eenvoudig af voor nieuwsbrieven"],"Use your own domain name":["Gebruik uw eigen domeinnaam"]},"specialoffer:logos":{"As featured in":["Zoals te lezen in"]},"specialoffer:metadescription":{"Get an encrypted email that protects your privacy":["Kies voor beveiligde e-mail die uw privacy beschermt"]},"specialoffer:metatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday Sale - Up to 40% off":["Proton Mail Black Friday Sale - Tot 40% korting"]},"specialoffer:newmetadescription":{"Get up to 40% off Proton Mail subscriptions this Black Friday. Find great deals on our secure end-to-end encrypted email plans.":["Profiteer tijdens Black Friday van wel 40% korting op Proton Mail-abonnementen. Bekijk geweldige aanbiedingen voor onze veilige, end-to-end versleutelde e-mailabonnementen."]},"specialoffer:newmetatitle":{"Proton Mail Black Friday sale | Up to 40% off secure email":["Proton Mail Black Friday Sale | Tot 40% korting op veilige e-mail"]},"specialoffer:note":{"* Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["*U betaalt ${ TOTAL_SUM } voor het eerste jaar"],"*Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["*U betaalt ${ TOTAL_SUM } voor de eerste 2 jaar"],"30-day money-back guarantee":["30 dagen niet-goed-geld-terug-garantie"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first 2 years":["U betaalt ${ TOTAL_SUM } voor de eerste 2 jaar"],"Billed at ${ TOTAL_SUM } for the first year":["U betaalt ${ TOTAL_SUM } voor het eerste jaar"],"You save ${ SAVE_SUM }":["U bespaart ${ SAVE_SUM }"]},"specialoffer:off":{"${ PERCENT_OFF } off":["−${ PERCENT_OFF }"]},"specialoffer:testimonial":{"I love my ProtonMail":["Ik ben fan van ProtonMail"],"My favorite email service":["Mijn favoriete e-mailservice"],"Thanks Proton for keeping us all safe in the complicated internet universe.":["Proton houdt ons allemaal veilig in het complexe internetuniversum."],"You get what you pay for. In the case of big tech, if you pay nothing, you get used. I quit using Gmail and switched to @ProtonMail":["Je krijgt waarvoor je betaalt. In het geval van Big Tech betekent 'gratis' dat je wordt gebruikt. Ik ben gestopt met Gmail en overgestapt op @ProtonMail"]},"specialoffer:time":{"Days":["Dagen"],"Hours":["Uur"],"Min":["Min"]},"specialoffer:title":{"And much more":["En nog veel meer"],"Safe from trackers":["Beschermd tegen trackers"],"Stay organized":["Blijf georganiseerd"],"Black Friday email deals":["Black Friday-deals voor e-mail"],"Don’t just take our word for it":["U hoeft ons niet te geloven"],"Make your inbox yours":["Maak uw inbox van u"],"Our story":["Ons verhaal"],"Transfer your data from Google in one click":["Zet uw gegevens van Google over met één klik"]},"specialoffer:tooltip":{"Access blocked content and browse privately. Includes ${ TOTAL_VPN_SERVERS }+ servers in ${ TOTAL_VPN_COUNTRIES }+ countries, connect up to 10 devices, access worldwide streaming services, malware and ad-blocker, and more.":["Bekijk geblokkeerde inhoud en surf privé. Met ${ TOTAL_VPN_SERVERS }+ servers in meer dan ${ TOTAL_VPN_COUNTRIES } landen, verbinding met maximaal 10 apparaten, wereldwijd toegang tot streamingdiensten, malware- en advertentieblokkering, en meer."],"Easily share your calendar with your family, friends or colleagues, and view external calendars.":["Deel uw agenda eenvoudig met uw familie, vrienden of collega's, en bekijk externe agenda's."],"Includes support for 1 custom email domain, 10 email addresses, 10 hide-my-email aliases, calendar sharing, and more.":["Ondersteuning voor 1 aangepast e-maildomein, 10 e-mailadressen, 10 hide-my-email-aliassen, gedeelde agenda's en meer."],"Includes support for 3 custom email domains, 15 email addresses, unlimited hide-my-email aliases, calendar sharing, and more.":["Ondersteuning voor 3 aangepaste e-maildomeinen, 15 e-mailadressen, onbeperkt hide-my-email-aliassen, gedeelde agenda's en meer."],"Manage up to 25 calendars, mobile apps, secured with end-to-end encryption, 1-click calendar import from Google, and more.":["Beheer tot 25 agenda's, mobiele apps, beveiligd met end-to-end versleuteling, agenda's van Google importeren met 1 klik, en meer."]},"Status banner":{"Learn more":["Meer informatie"],"Please note that at the moment we are experiencing issues with the ${ issues[0] } service.":["We ondervinden op dit moment problemen met de ${ issues[0] }service."],"We are experiencing issues with one or more services at the moment.":["We ondervinden momenteel problemen met een of meer services."]},"Status Banner":{"At the moment we are experiencing issues with the Proton VPN service":["Momenteel werkt de dienst van Proton VPN niet naar behoren"],"Learn more":["Meer informatie"]},"steps":{"Step":["Stap"]},"suggestions":{"Suggestions":["Suggesties"]},"Support":{"Sub category":["Subcategorie","Subcategorieën"]},"Support article":{"${ readingTime } min":["${ readingTime } min","${ readingTime } min"],"Category":["Categorie","Categorieën"],"Didn’t find what you were looking for?":["Niet gevonden wat u zocht?"],"General contact":["Algemene contactgegevens"],"Get help":["Krijg hulp"],"Legal contact":["Contactgegevens voor juridische zaken"],"Media contact":["Contactgegevens voor media"],"Partnerships contact":["Contactgegevens voor partnerschappen"],"Reading":["Lezen"]},"Support Form Platform option":{"VPN for Android TV":["VPN voor Android TV"],"VPN for Apple TV":["VPN voor Apple TV"],"VPN for Chromebook":["VPN voor Chromebook"]},"Support troubleshooting":{"App version":["App-versie"],"Browser":["Browser"],"Check if this helps":["Kijk of dit helpt"],"Choose a product":["Kies een product"],"Did this solve your issue?":["Heeft dit uw probleem opgelost?"],"Faster assistance is just a few clicks away":["Snellere hulp is met een paar klikken geregeld"],"How can we help?":["Hoe kunnen we helpen?"],"No, contact support":["Nee, contact opnemen met ondersteuning"],"Please fill out one field after another":["Vul de velden achter elkaar in"],"Please make your selections":["Maak een keuze"],"Proton account":["Proton-account"],"Proton for Business":["Proton for Business"],"Thank you for your feedback":["Bedankt voor uw feedback"],"What can we help with?":["Waar kunnen we mee helpen?"],"Yes":["Ja"]},"support_modal_search_query":{"Search query":["Zoekopdracht"]},"support_search_button":{"Search":["Zoeken"]},"support_search_i_am_looking_for":{"I'm looking for":["Ik ben op zoek naar"]},"SupportForm":{"For a faster resolution, please report the issue from the Bridge app: Help > Report a problem.":["Om problemen sneller op te lossen, meldt u het via de Bridge-app: Help > Een probleem melden."],"Information":["Informatie"]},"SupportForm:option":{"Account Security":["Accountbeveiliging"],"Contacts":["Contactpersonen"],"Custom email domain":["Aangepast e-maildomein"],"Email delivery and Spam":["E-maillevering en spam"],"Encryption":["Versleuteling"],"Login and password":["Inlognaam en wachtwoord"],"Merge aliases and accounts":["Aliassen en accounts 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Whether you’ve had enough of Big Tech companies monetizing your personal data or just found somewhere else to shop, here’s all you need to know to permanently close your Amazon account.
The “Everything Store” is everywhere. Amazon has grown into a dominant force in e-commerce worldwide, and chances are you’ve bought something on Amazon or used an Amazon-owned service.
But using Amazon comes at a high cost to your privacy. Here we look at why you might want to close your Amazon account, five steps to permanently delete it, and what happens when you do. We’ll also cover how to secure your account if you need to keep it open.
One reason to close your Amazon account is to take back control of your personal data and privacy. Amazon collects a vast quantity of information about you — data you have no control over.
With its online marketplace, Kindle e-readers, Audible audiobooks, music and video services, and Alexa-enabled and home security devices, Amazon can vacuum up details on all aspects of your life. As one report from the US shows, this data allows the company to construct strikingly intimate portraits(nieuw venster) of individual consumers.
If you care about freedom online, you may also be worried about the dominance of Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s rapidly expanding cloud computing arm. According to a US House report on competition in digital markets(nieuw venster), AWS has become one of the “gatekeepers” of the internet, stifling online competition and open-source innovation.
Or you may be concerned about your data security. If you no longer use your Amazon account, it makes sense to delete your personal details so they won’t be exposed to a data breach(nieuw venster).
And the only way to delete that vast trove of information Amazon knows about you is to close your account.
Can you delete your Amazon order history?
Unfortunately, you can’t erase your Amazon order history. Even if you close your account, Amazon still retains a record of your purchases for legal and accounting purposes.
The best you can do is hide them in your account: You can archive individual items(nieuw venster) to remove them from your list of orders, though they’ll still be visible if you search for them. If you want to hide purchases from your family in a shared account, you can set up an Amazon Household(nieuw venster) account.
How to cancel Amazon Prime?
If you’d like to reduce your use of Amazon to a minimum, rather than close your account, you might want to cancel your Amazon Prime subscription, if you have one:
Log in to your Amazon account.
At the top right, select Accounts & Lists → YourPrime Membership.
Select Manage Membership → End Membership.
Continue through the following screens, where you’ll be shown the benefits you’ll lose if you cancel. Select I Do Not Want My Benefits (or a similar option) on each one.
On the final confirm membership cancellation page, select Cancel Membership and End Benefits.
What happens when you delete your Amazon account?
If you want to go ahead and permanently close your Amazon account, bear in mind two things:
You’ll immediately lose access to all Amazon’s global websites (amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.fr, etc.).
You’ll no longer be able to download your Amazon online content or use any Amazon services.
That’s why you must download any invoices, personal data, and other content you want to keep before closing your account. You can download individual items from your account or go to Request My Data(nieuw venster) and select the category of data you wish to download.
Here are the main products and services you’ll lose access to when you close your account:
Your customer profile, including your reviews, discussion posts, returns, and refunds for orders
Your Amazon Prime membership
Your Amazon gift cards, meaning you will not be able to spend your gift cards balance
Your digital content, including Amazon Photos, Amazon Drive, Prime Video, Amazon Music, Audible, Kindle (including Kindle Direct Publishing), Amazon Author Central, and the Amazon Appstore
Alexa services available on Alexa-enabled devices, plus your voice recordings and other Alexa content and data
Your AWS account and all the resources it contains
All other Amazon services, like Amazon Pay and Amazon Flex, and Amazon-owned services like IMDbPro and Whole Foods Market
Can you reopen a closed Amazon account?
Once you’ve closed your Amazon account, you can’t reopen it. If you ever want to use Amazon services again, you’ll need to create a new account with new login credentials.
That’s good news if you want to permanently delete your data. Only make sure you’ve downloaded all the content you need before closing, as outlined above. And don’t forget to check for anything you may have uploaded to cloud services like Amazon Photos or Amazon Drive.
Five steps to permanently delete your Amazon account
Now you’re ready to take back control of your data, here’s how to close your Amazon account for good:
Review the products and services associated with your account.
Select a reason in the dropdown menu and tick the box next to Yes, I want to permanently close my Amazon account and delete my data.
Select Close my Account.
How long does it take to delete an Amazon account?
After you select Close my Account, Amazon will send you a confirmation email or text. You’ll then have five days to reply, confirming that you want Amazon to close your account permanently.
Amazon doesn’t state how long it takes to delete your data after that nor specify all the data it retains. It only says that it’s “legally required or entitled to retain some types of data, such as order history” and does so “in line with applicable laws including for tax and accounting and fraud prevention purposes”.
How to secure your Amazon account
If you’re staying with Amazon, here’s what you can do to make your account as secure and as private as possible.
Add a strong password
Make sure you’re using a strong, unique password. To change your Amazon password:
Log in to your Amazon account and go to Account & Lists → Your Account → Account.
Select Login & security.
Next to Password, select Edit.
Follow the on-screen instructions and select Save changes.
If your password is ever lost, two-factor authentication (2FA), also known as two-step verification (2SV), gives you an extra layer of defense. To enable 2FA:
Log in to your Amazon account and go to Account & Lists → Your Account → Account.
Select Login & security.
Next to Two-Step Verification (2SV) Settings, select Edit.
Click Get Started.
Follow the on-screen instructions.
Block personalized ads and third-party cookies
You can stop Amazon from showing you interest-based ads and switch off the third-party cookies that allow other companies to track you on Amazon. To change these settings:
Log in to your Amazon account and go to Account & Lists → Your Account → Account.
Go to Communication and content → Advertising preferences and toggle off the interest-based ads option. See instructions there for managing cookies.
Disable Amazon search history
You can also turn off your Amazon browsing history, though that will only hide it, not delete it. To turn off your browsing history:
Log in to your Amazon account and select Browsing History from the top menu.
Select Manage history and then toggle Turn Browsing History on/off.
Delete unused personal data
Remove any personal details you no longer need from your account, like credit cards or addresses you rarely use. The fewer details in your account, the less you have to lose if there’s a data breach.
At Proton, our mission is to build trusted ways for people to be secure online and in control of their data at all times. If you’d like to support our mission, please consider upgrading to a paid plan(nieuw venster) for more features.