Amazon retains data linked to closed seller accounts for a significant period, primarily for security, fraud prevention, and legal compliance purposes, and this data can be used to link closed and new accounts even after closure and deletion requests. Although sellers lose access to their closed accounts and visible data after closure, Amazon's internal retention policies hold detailed account information for at least two years or longer to enable linkage with any future accounts that share similar information.
Sellers have reported that even after opting to close accounts and delete associated data, Amazon still links newly created accounts to previously closed or deleted ones if overlapping identifiers (e.g., name, tax ID, phone number, payment info) are detected. This persistent linkage indicates that Amazon retains underlying user and account data behind the scenes beyond what is publicly visible or accessible to the seller.
Moreover, Amazon's extensive data collection includes email hashes, device fingerprints, IP addresses, and payment information, which can be retained indefinitely as anti-fraud measures to prevent circumvention of policies by creating multiple accounts. Thus, the practical effect is that Amazon can and does maintain linkage data well beyond the visible closure date, detecting reused or linked information across new registrations to enforce its policies.