Those who can’t wait for Christmas morning, especially kids, might go to extremes to learn exactly what they’re getting for Christmas.
“We all remember as kids trying to find where the Christmas gifts were located somewhere in house — under the bed, in the attic, in a closet, whatever it may be. Kids today, they have it a little bit easier because they know how to navigate all these different devices and menus,” digital expert Kim Komando said.
If your family shares an Amazon account, prying eyes need only land on the orders page to find exactly what will be coming to the home. But there are ways to keep gift purchases secret until the wrapping paper comes off.
“Amazon allows you to archive your orders, which basically moves them away from the main ‘your orders’ section. While still technically accessible, if somebody really wants to do a deep dive, somebody who’s just casually browsing, they’re not going to be able to see the orders,” Kim Komando said.
Another way to keep the secret is to place your order as a “gift,” while not logged into your Amazon account.
“What you can do is not sign into your Amazon account at all. And then you’re going to do a guest checkout. So this way, there’s no real history of that order being placed on Amazon. But keep in mind, if you give an email address that’s tied to that order, somebody can just go ahead and snoop through … your email. And then of course, take a look,” she said.
Yet another step to maintain the surprise is to prevent Alexa from blabbing all over the house about your gift purchases.
“If you have one of these Amazon Echo devices … it’s super convenient when Alexa will go ahead and tell you all about your deliveries that are just coming right to your doorstep, including what’s inside all the boxes. We want to turn that off, of course. What you want to do is just say, ‘Alexa, turn off delivery notification,'” said Komando.
