When you shop at Walmart, the retail giant keeps track of your purchases and browsing history. This data helps Walmart provide customized recommendations and tailor ads to you. However, you may want to delete your Walmart purchase history for privacy reasons.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explain step-by-step how to view your Walmart purchase history, delete individual items or your full history, and prevent tracking of future purchases.
Benefits of Deleting Your Walmart Purchase History
There are a few key reasons you may want to delete your Walmart purchase history:
- Privacy – Keep your shopping preferences and habits private
- Security – Prevent purchases from being misused if account is hacked
- Clutter – Remove no longer needed items from browsing and purchase records
- Irrelevance – Delete items not reflective of current needs or interests
- Accuracy – Erase incorrect purchases made by others on your account
- Control – Decide what information Walmart stores about your shopping behavior
Depending on your concerns, deleting part or all of your Walmart purchase history can provide peace of mind.
How Walmart Tracks Your Purchases
Walmart captures your purchase history through a few different methods:
- Walmart account – All purchases made when logged into your Walmart.com account are stored in your order history. In-store purchases link if you use Savings Catcher.
- Credit/debit cards – Walmart detects what credit or debit cards you use in-store so purchases can be linked to your account.
- Mobile app – The Walmart app accesses your location and browsing history to provide personalized recommendations.
- Cookies and device tracking – Walmart uses browser cookies to track browsing behavior and device IDs to identify your purchases across devices.
- In-store cameras – Walmart’s in-store cameras use facial recognition to identify frequent shoppers.
Viewing Your Walmart Purchase History
First you’ll need to check your purchase history before deleting. Here’s how to view it:
For online purchases:
- Go to Walmart.com and login to your Walmart account.
- Click “Returns & Orders” at the top.
- Select “Order History” to view details of all your online purchases.
For in-store purchases:
- Go to Walmart.com and login to your account.
- Click “Savings Catcher” at the top.
- Select “Walmart Purchase History” to see items you bought in-store.
On mobile app:
- Open up the Walmart app and go to “Account”.
- Tap “Purchase History” to view your in-store and online orders.
Deleting Individual Items from Your Purchase History
If you just want to remove a few specific items from your history, follow these steps:
For online purchases:
- Go to your Order History on Walmart.com
- Locate the item you want to delete.
- Select “Remove” next to that item.
- Confirm you want to delete this order from your purchase history.
For in-store purchases:
- Go to your Savings Catcher purchase history.
- Find the item you want to remove.
- Click the trash can icon next to the item to delete.
- Confirm removal in the pop-up.
This will immediately erase that particular item from your records. Repeat for any other individual purchases you want deleted.
Deleting Your Entire Purchase History
To delete your full Walmart purchase history:
Online order history
- Login to your Walmart account and go to account settings.
- Click “Delete purchase history”.
- Select the option to delete your entire history and confirm.
In-store history
- Login and navigate to your Savings Catcher dashboard.
- Click “Delete purchase history”.
- Check the box to delete full history and confirm.
Mobile purchases
- Open the Walmart app and go to account details.
- Tap “Manage Purchase History”.
- Scroll down and select “Delete full history” then confirm.
Once confirmed, all your Walmart purchases will be wiped from your online account and mobile app!
Preventing Tracking of Future Purchases
To stop Walmart from tracking purchases moving forward:
- Turn off location services for the Walmart app so in-store visits aren’t detected.
- Clear browser cookies and purchase cookies from Walmart.com.
- Use guest checkout online and don’t input your phone number in-store.
- Pay with different cards or cash each visit so purchases cannot be linked.
- Block Walmart’s monitoring cookies in your browser privacy settings.
- Sign up for email receipts rather than paper receipts to limit data collection.
- Avoid signing up for a Walmart account so purchases aren’t aggregated.
Protecting Privacy When Shopping at Walmart
In addition to managing your purchase history, keep these tips in mind for protecting privacy:
- Review account and privacy settings to limit data sharing with third parties.
- Never save passwords or payment information in your Walmart account or app.
- Use guest mode or private browsing when shopping on Walmart.com.
- Turn off ad personalization and location tracking in account settings.
- Avoid connecting Social Media accounts which provide more personal data.
- Shop with cash when possible and avoid using loyalty cards.
- Use a virtual credit card number or privacy payment card.
FAQs About Managing Walmart Purchase History
Does Walmart delete purchase history automatically?
No, Walmart keeps your purchase history on file indefinitely unless you manually request deletion. Purchase details remain in your account and records unless removed.
Can you delete Walmart purchase history in the app?
Yes, you can delete your full purchase history right in the Walmart app under account details and settings. Simply select “Delete full history” and confirm.
Does deleting Walmart history also delete returns?
Yes, deleting your full Walmart purchase history removes record of both purchases and returns from your account history and records.
Can purchases deleted from account history be restored?
No, once you confirm deletion of purchases or full history, this cannot be undone or retrieved. The record is permanently erased from Walmart’s databases.
Does Walmart still recommend items after deleting history?
Yes, Walmart will continue making recommendations based on demographic data, browsing behavior, items you currently have in cart, and other signals.
Can Walmart still track you if you delete history?
Yes, Walmart can continue tracking things like store visits, browsing, items in cart, and in-store cameras. To limit tracking, use privacy tips outlined above.
In Summary
Walmart extensively tracks customer purchase history and behavior both online and in-store. While this enables customized service, it also raises privacy concerns. Deleting your Walmart purchase history and limiting future tracking allows greater control over your personal shopping data. Follow the steps outlined above to view your history, permanently delete items or your full record, and shop more privately moving forward.
Conclusion
Managing your privacy is key when shopping at a large retailer like Walmart. Take charge of the personal data they collect by periodically reviewing and deleting your purchase history. Implement privacy best practices to minimize long-term tracking. While Walmart aims to improve your shopping experience through personalization, be mindful of sharing only necessary information and maintaining control over your data
