Private Order Planner: Four Questions, Your Privacy Checklist

The checklist

1. Statement

   Pay with a prepaid or gift card

   A prepaid or gift card draws down the card, not your bank account, so the purchase does not appear on your bank statement. PayPal only partly hides it: statements generally show PAYPAL * plus a shortened seller name.

   What each payment method leaves on a statement →
2. Statement

   Find the exact statement name before you pay

   If you pay by card, look for the exact billing name on the store's own pages, or ask support. What five stores say:

   • Dame: not stated on the pages we read.
   • Unbound: Charges are billed as "Queen City Boxes," but some banks may add "Unbound Babes" to the name. Paying with Zip shows "Zip.co* Unbound Babes." To keep the name off your statement, Unbound suggests buying from its Amazon shop.
   • Lovehoney US: not stated on the pages we read.
   • Adam & Eve: The card statement shows "Adam Mail." The name "Adam & Eve" never appears.
   • Amazon: Amazon's charge-descriptor table lists "AMZN Mktp US *A1B2C3D4E", "Amazon.com", "AMZN.COM/BILL" and similar names for Amazon.com purchases. Each descriptor includes a reference code.
   How to check a store's billing name →
3. Delivery

   Send it to a locker or pickup point

   A carrier pickup point (USPS Hold for Pickup, a UPS Access Point, a FedEx location), a parcel locker such as an Amazon Hub Locker, or a PO box keeps the parcel off a shared porch or mailroom.

   How to receive a package discreetly →
4. Delivery

   Know the sender name on the label

   Plain boxes still carry a sender name. What the stores say appears on the label:

   • Dame: The return address on the label is listed as "Fulfillment Centers/DCL Logistics."
   • Unbound: The two pages disagree. The Discretion page says packages come from "Shipping Dept"; the FAQ says "Fulfillment Center." Both are generic names.
   • Lovehoney US: The shipping label lists Lovehoney as 'LH Trading.' The return address is the Atlanta, GA warehouse and does not include the word 'Lovehoney.'
   • Adam & Eve: The FAQ says an alias is used on the return address label but does not name it. The discreet-shipping page says the 'from' field is left blank unless postal rules require a phone number and address. Its sample label shows only a phone number and 'PO BOX 8200, HILLSBOROUGH, NC 27278,' with no company name.
   • Amazon: not stated on the pages we read.
   How discreet packaging and billing work →
5. Alerts

   Turn off lock-screen and speaker alerts

   Unbound warns that after an Apple Pay order, Apple Wallet can show the product image on your lock screen (iPhone Settings > Wallet & Apple Pay > Order Tracking). Amazon says Alexa says or shows item titles in delivery notifications by default; you can turn that off in the Alexa app. Send order emails and texts to an inbox and phone only you use.

   Who can see what you bought online →
6. Amazon

   On Amazon, use your own account and mark the order private

   In an Amazon Family, members can see each other's purchases unless an order is marked private (at checkout or later on Order Details). Archiving does not hide an order. If a product page says "Shows what's inside" next to Packaging, choose "Ship in Amazon Packaging" at checkout. A third-party seller that ships its own orders may use its own packaging.

   Amazon order privacy →
7. Tracking

   Expect ad tracking on a shared computer

   All five stores we checked describe advertising tracking, and Lovehoney and Adam & Eve offer opt-outs for data "sales" or "sharing." On a shared computer or browser, ads for what you browsed can follow you; use the store's opt-out and sign out when you finish.

   Store privacy check: tracking and opt-outs →
8. Store

   Read the store's own shipping and privacy pages

   Look for the exact sender name, statement name, and return terms in writing. If a store won't answer a plain question about packaging or billing, choose another store.

   Compare five stores side by side →