Your Complete Amazon Purchase History

Did you know that Amazon stores your complete purchase history from 2006 through today on its web-site? Well, it does, and as a service to its customers, Amazon makes that information available to you. Just log into your Amazon account here, set the date range for your orders and Amazon makes your purchase history available to you as a MS Excel spreadsheet.

The spreadsheet contains a list of the items you purchased, the amount that you paid, how you paid (i.e. what credit card you used), the address where the item was shipped, and more.

This is a great way to keep track of all of your Amazon purchases over the years, but there is a problem - you can't delete this information. Amazon will always have a complete, and very detailed history of the purchases you have made.

To avoid having a purchase from Amazon associated with you, you will need to use a separate Amazon account, fund it with a source different than that used for your primary account. (Use an Amazon Gift Card, or fund your new Amazon account through Privacy.Com). You should also have the items delivered somewhere other than your home address (think Amazon Locker here).

Now maybe you don't care that Amazon maintains a detailed list of all your purchases. Maybe you think it's a good service to let you review you entire purchase history - it is. But, what does that purchase history tell others about you?  Groups like the American Library Association have long opposed the government gaining access to your reading history at libraries. Is your Amazon reading (purchase) history really that much different?