Amazon separates privacy controls by data type. To manage your information, use Your Browsing History and recommendation controls for shopping activity, More > Alexa Privacy in the Alexa app for voice and interaction data, and Amazon’s advertising-preference pages for interest-based ads. Deleting one category does not erase the others.
The instructions below describe Amazon.com and U.S. account paths documented in October 2026. Menu labels, available choices, and advertising controls can differ by country, device, and software version. Amazon’s Privacy Notice was last updated June 30, 2026.
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Amazon privacy controls at a glance
Choose the control that matches the data you want to change. A browser-history deletion, for example, is not an Alexa-recording deletion, and an advertising opt-out does not remove your shopping history.
| Data or activity | Where to manage it | What the control does | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Products and pages viewed on Amazon | Your Browsing History | Review or remove individual viewed items | The cited notice does not promise that every downstream copy or use is erased. |
| Recommendation inputs | Item controls and Improve Your Recommendations | Stop a particular item from influencing recommendations or adjust recommendation inputs | Recommendations can continue using other information. |
| Alexa audio, transcripts, typed requests, and responses | Alexa app: More > Alexa Privacy | Review, play, and delete interaction history; set retention choices | Amazon may retain related records, and third-party skills may keep their own data. |
| Use of recordings to improve services | Alexa app: More > Alexa Privacy > Manage Your Alexa Data | Manage participation in service-improvement and new-feature development | Turning it off can reduce personalization or features such as Voice ID. |
| Interest-based ads on Alexa | Manage Your Alexa Data; Manage Skill Permissions and Ad Preferences | Opt out of use of an advertising ID for interest-based ads and profiles | Ads can still appear, and the identifier may support frequency control or fraud prevention. |
| Amazon advertising preferences generally | Your Ads Privacy Choices | Set marketplace-specific choices for Amazon-delivered interest-based advertising | Controls and legal rights vary by country. |
| Sponsored ads on Echo Show | On-screen ad controls | Skip an ad or hide one ad temporarily | Amazon says sponsored ads cannot be turned off completely. |
Amazon’s Privacy Notice and Alexa and Alexa Device FAQs are the governing references for these settings; the screens themselves can change.
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- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
Delete or edit Amazon browsing history
Your browsing history records products and pages you viewed while using Amazon. It is separate from the browser history stored by Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, or another browser. Deleting an entry in Amazon does not automatically clear that local browser record.
Remove viewed items from Your Browsing History
- Sign in to the Amazon account whose history you want to manage.
- Open the account menu and choose Your Browsing History. You can also reach the page through Amazon’s account and history links when the menu layout differs.
- Review the displayed products and select the option to remove an individual item. Repeat for each product you no longer want listed.
- Return to the page later if you want to remove additional entries; deleting one item does not delete the rest of the list.
The Privacy Notice explains how to edit Your Browsing History, but it does not state that deleting an entry purges every copy, log, recommendation signal, order record, or other Amazon system that may be related to the item. Treat the control as management of the browsing-history list, not as a guarantee that all associated data disappears.
Stop a viewed item from influencing recommendations
Browsing history and recommendations are related, but they are not the same control. Amazon describes an item-level setting called Use this item for recommendations. Turn that setting off for a product when you want the item excluded as a recommendation input without assuming that the browsing-history list itself has been erased.
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- Open Your Browsing History and locate the product.
- Use the item’s recommendation control and turn off Use this item for recommendations.
- For broader cleanup, open Improve Your Recommendations from your account’s recommendation settings and manage the inputs shown there, such as items you have viewed or purchased.
These controls affect recommendation inputs; they do not promise that Amazon will stop showing every personalized suggestion. Other activity, including purchases or additional browsing, can remain relevant to recommendations.
Browse without linking activity to an Amazon account
Amazon states that customers who want to browse its websites without linking browsing history to their account may sign out and block browser cookies. The statement appears in the Amazon.com Privacy Notice.
Rank #2
- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
This is a trade-off rather than a universal privacy switch. Amazon warns that rejecting cookies can interfere with the shopping cart, checkout, sign-in, and other services. A browser can also retain its own local history, cached files, or autofill data, which are controlled in the browser’s settings rather than on Amazon’s account page. If you use multiple browsers or devices, apply local-history controls separately on each one.
Review and delete Alexa voice and interaction history
Alexa history includes more than recorded audio. Amazon says the Alexa Privacy area can show voice recordings, transcripts, typed requests, and Alexa’s responses. When Alexa detects the wake word or a button activation, the request is streamed to Amazon’s cloud for processing; the device displays an indicator while this occurs. False wakes are possible, so review the history if a device appears to have activated unexpectedly.
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- Open the Alexa mobile app.
- Tap More.
- Choose Alexa Privacy.
- Select Review Alexa History.
- Choose a date or interaction to inspect the audio sent to the cloud, read the transcript, see any typed request, and review Alexa’s response. Where the interface provides playback, use it to verify what the device captured.
- Use the available delete action for an interaction or group of interactions. If your app uses different wording, look for the history-delete control inside Alexa Privacy.
The official route is documented in Amazon’s Alexa and Alexa Device FAQs. Amazon can revise the app, so a missing label does not necessarily mean the control has been removed; check for Alexa Privacy and Manage Your Alexa Data after an app update.
Set automatic deletion or choose not to save recordings
Under Manage Your Alexa Data, Amazon documents retention choices for voice data and associated transcripts or typed requests. The available periods are policy settings, not guarantees that every related record disappears at the exact instant a timer expires.
| Choice documented by Amazon | What it means | Effect to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Delete after 3 months | Alexa voice data and associated material are automatically deleted on the documented schedule | Shorter retention, with less historical data available for review or personalization |
| Delete after 18 months | Alexa voice data and associated material are retained longer before automatic deletion | More history remains available during the retention period |
| Do not save recordings | Recordings are deleted after processing | Transcripts and typed requests remain for 30 days after the last interaction in a chat, according to Amazon |
To select a setting, open More > Alexa Privacy > Manage Your Alexa Data, find voice-history or retention settings, and choose the period that matches your needs. Confirm the change before leaving the page. The precise wording and availability can vary by marketplace and account.
Rank #3
- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
What deletion does not necessarily remove
Amazon cautions that deleting voice recordings, transcripts, or typed requests does not necessarily delete every record associated with an Alexa interaction. It may retain information such as actions taken, products searched for, orders, reminders, preferences, or attachments so that related features can continue to work. Amazon also says deletion timing can vary by data type and technical process.
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A request sent through a third-party Alexa skill can create information outside Amazon’s cloud. The skill developer or another content provider may retain its own copy under its own privacy policy. Deleting the Amazon-cloud copy does not delete data held by that developer. If a sensitive request involved a skill, review that skill’s account and privacy controls separately.
Understand the feature trade-offs
Amazon says deleting Alexa data can affect personalization and features including Voice ID. Voice ID and other personalized behavior may become less accurate or unavailable when the historical data used for them is removed. Selecting a shorter retention period or not saving recordings is therefore a privacy choice with a convenience cost, not a setting that leaves every feature unchanged.
Stop Amazon using Alexa recordings for improvement
Deleting old recordings and limiting future use are different actions. In Manage Your Alexa Data, Amazon provides controls for whether recordings can be used for service improvement and development of new features. Review those switches even if you have already deleted history; a deletion action does not automatically communicate the same preference for future recordings.
- In the Alexa app, tap More and then Alexa Privacy.
- Open Manage Your Alexa Data.
- Find the settings governing use of voice recordings for service improvement or new-feature development.
- Turn off the uses you do not want to allow, then read and confirm any warning about feature or personalization effects.
- Return to the same page after a major app or device update to verify that the preference is still shown as selected.
The available controls do not turn Alexa into an offline assistant. Amazon still processes a request sent after wake-word detection or button activation so it can respond. The setting concerns specified uses of recordings, while retention and deletion are handled by the separate history controls.
Rank #4
- Meet Echo Dot Max: Experience rich room-filling sound that automatically adapts to your space and fine-tunes playback. Features a built-in smart home hub and Omnisense technology for highly personalized experiences.
- Music to your ears: With nearly 3x the bass versus Echo Dot (2022 release), it fits beautifully in any space, delivering your personal sound stage with deep bass and enhanced clarity. Listen to streaming services, such as Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and SiriusXM. Encore!
- Do more with device pairing: Connect compatible Echo smart speakers and smart displays in different rooms, or pair with a second Echo Dot Max to enjoy even richer sound
- Simple smart home control: Set routines, pair and control lights, locks, and thousands of smart home devices that work with Alexa without needing a separate smart home hub. With Omnisense technology, you can activate routines via temperature or presence detection.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot Max doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
Turn off interest-based advertising and manage ad identifiers
Alexa advertising preferences
For Amazon-delivered interest-based ads on Alexa, use More > Alexa Privacy > Manage Your Alexa Data and open the advertising-preference controls provided there. Amazon also points to Manage Skill Permissions and Ad Preferences for permissions and advertising choices associated with third-party Alexa skills.
- Open the Alexa app and go to More > Alexa Privacy.
- Choose Manage Your Alexa Data, then locate the advertising-preference section.
- Review the option governing use of the advertising ID for interest-based ads or advertising profiles and opt out if that is your choice.
- Open Manage Skill Permissions and Ad Preferences to review individual skill permissions and related advertising settings.
- If you want a fresh identifier, use the reset-advertising-ID option when available. Resetting changes the identifier; it is not the same as deleting all Alexa history.
Amazon says opting out can prevent the advertising ID from being used for interest-based ads or advertising profiles. It may still use an identifier for other purposes, such as limiting repetitive ads or detecting fraud. Third-party developers and content providers are responsible for honoring the preferences that apply to their services, so an opt-out cannot guarantee identical behavior in every skill.
Use Amazon’s broader advertising-choice page
Amazon maintains a country-selection directory at Advertising Preferences. Choose your marketplace and follow the current Your Ads Privacy Choices route for that country. The controls and legal rights shown there are not necessarily identical between the United States, European countries, and other markets.
Set the broader preference in addition to Alexa-specific choices when you use both Amazon shopping and Alexa devices. An advertising opt-out concerns interest-based advertising; it does not remove your account, erase browsing history, or guarantee that every recommendation is non-personalized.
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- You may continue to see non-interest-based ads.
- You may continue to receive personalized product recommendations based on other permitted inputs.
- Amazon can still display service messages, sponsored placements, or content that is not selected using your advertising profile.
- A third-party skill can have separate data practices and controls.
Manage ads and suggestions on Echo Show
Echo Show devices have a special limitation. Amazon’s help page says sponsored ads cannot be turned off, even when interest-based advertising is disabled. You can skip an ad by swiping from right to left on the screen. The instruction is documented in Manage Ads and Other Suggested Content on Your Echo Devices with a Screen.
If one sponsored ad is particularly unwanted, Amazon says you can hide that individual ad for 30 days. Hiding it is temporary and does not disable the sponsored-ad system. Other home-screen suggestions are a separate category, so inspect the Echo Show’s suggestion or content settings if you want to reduce those as well.
Choose the right action for common privacy goals
| Your goal | Do this | Do not assume |
|---|---|---|
| Remove a product from the Amazon browsing list | Delete it in Your Browsing History | That all Amazon records or recommendation signals disappear |
| Stop one product affecting recommendations | Turn off Use this item for recommendations and review Improve Your Recommendations | That all future recommendations will be generic |
| Erase existing Alexa audio | Review Alexa History and delete the selected interactions | That transcripts, orders, reminders, skill-provider data, or other records are automatically erased |
| Keep less Alexa history going forward | Choose 3 months, 18 months, or not to save recordings in Manage Your Alexa Data | That not saving audio removes transcripts immediately; Amazon states a 30-day period for those items |
| Prevent recordings being used for specified improvement purposes | Turn off the relevant service-improvement and new-feature settings | That Alexa will stop processing requests needed to answer you |
| Reduce interest-based advertising | Set Alexa advertising preferences and Your Ads Privacy Choices for your marketplace | That all ads, recommendations, or third-party skill data will vanish |
| See fewer Echo Show interruptions | Skip ads and hide an individual ad for 30 days | That sponsored ads can be disabled entirely |
Troubleshooting and privacy checks
The menu is missing
Amazon changes navigation between app releases, device generations, and marketplaces. Update the Alexa app, sign in to the intended account, and search the app for Alexa Privacy, Review Alexa History, or Manage Your Alexa Data. On the shopping site, use the account search or help area to locate Your Browsing History and Improve Your Recommendations.
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- CUSTOMIZABLE SMART CLOCK - See time, weather, and song titles at a glance, control smart home devices, and more. Personalize your display with your favorite clock face and fun colors.
- BIG VIBRANT SOUND - Enjoy rich sound with clear vocals and deep bass. Just ask Alexa to play music, podcasts, and audiobooks. See song titles and touch to control your music.
- EASE INTO THE DAY - Set up an Alexa routine that gently wakes you with music and gradual light. Glance at the time, check reminders, or ask Alexa for weather updates.
- KEEP YOUR HOME COMFORTABLE - Control compatible smart home devices. Just ask Alexa to turn on lights or touch the screen to dim. Create routines that use motion detection to turn down the thermostat as you head out or open the blinds when you walk into a room.
A deleted recording still appears
Refresh the history view and check whether you are looking at a transcript, typed request, or response rather than the audio entry. Amazon says deletion timing varies by data type and technical process. Related action, order, reminder, preference, or attachment records can remain even after the voice item is gone.
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You still see ads after opting out
Confirm that you changed both the Alexa preference and the broader marketplace preference when both apply. Then distinguish interest-based ads from non-interest-based ads and Echo Show sponsored placements. Amazon explicitly says Echo Show sponsored ads cannot be turned off, and an opt-out does not eliminate every advertisement.
A skill continues to use information
Open Manage Skill Permissions and Ad Preferences, revoke permissions you no longer need, and contact the skill developer for data held outside Amazon’s cloud. Amazon’s own deletion request cannot erase a copy retained by an independent skill provider.
Shopping stops working after cookie changes
Restore the cookies required by Amazon, or allow cookies selectively for the shopping site. Amazon warns that rejecting cookies can disrupt cart, checkout, sign-in, and other core functions. If your objective is simply to avoid linking activity to the account, signing out may be less disruptive than blocking every cookie, but it does not clear local browser history.
A practical privacy-maintenance routine
- Once a month, open Your Browsing History and remove items you no longer want listed; adjust recommendation inputs for items that should not influence suggestions.
- Review Alexa Privacy after adding a new Echo device or skill. Check Review Alexa History for unexpected activations and confirm your retention choice.
- Verify Manage Your Alexa Data settings for recording use, retention, and advertising preferences after major Alexa app updates.
- Review skill permissions and delete or revoke access for skills you no longer use. Ask a skill provider separately about information it keeps outside Amazon’s systems.
- Open the advertising-preference page for your marketplace when your country, account region, or device changes, because the available controls can differ.
- On Echo Show, skip or hide unwanted sponsored ads individually and adjust separate home-screen suggestion controls.
These checks address different data stores and purposes. Managing them separately is the only way to avoid assuming that one Amazon privacy switch covers browsing, voice, recommendations, skills, and advertising at once.
Quick Recap
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