Are e-commerce websites making it harder and harder for users to log off? That's certainly a trend one reader has seen evidence of, including confirmation from Amazon that the best way to sign out from your account is to lie to them about who you are.
"Over the last few months it has become very difficult to sign out of a session from sites like Amazon and PayPal," the reader wrote. "The 'Sign Out' or
Are e-commerce websites making it harder and harder for users to log off? That's certainly a trend one reader has seen evidence of, including confirmation from Amazon that the best way to sign out from your account is to lie to them about who you are.
"Over the last few months it has become very difficult to sign out of a session from sites like Amazon and PayPal," the reader wrote. "The 'Sign Out' or equivalent link that for years was at the top of nearly every page is now missing from nearly all pages of those sites. Even the most obvious page where a sign out link should be -- the page acknowledging completion of an order -- offers no way to log out. Amazon and PayPal have turned things upside down and instead of closing a session, they now want us to remain logged in after leaving their site. Why would they do that? What good does it do Amazon and PayPal when their customers minimize the browser or surf to another site while signed in?"
The reader was particularly bothered by what appears to be the only procedure now for logging out of an Amazon account. "Amazon offers a moronic - i.e., counterintuitive -- solution to signing out. You have to find a page on the site that has 'If you're not (your name), click here' and click on it, thereby saying you're not you. This convoluted procedure is too bizarre to be unplanned or mere Webmaster gaffe, so something's going on."
The reader wrote to Amazon to ask about this odd system, pointing out that staying logged in all the time increases the security risk for customers. To its credit, Amazon responded to his message. (The reader also wrote PayPal about the sign out links he believe are missing from some pages, but PayPal has not responded.) The Amazon representative confirmed that the proper process for logging out is to:
"1. Click the link near the top of the home page that says "If you're not ____, click here.
2. On the next page, leave the e-mail and password spaces blank and click the Amazon.com tab at the top of the page."
The e-mail also included some of the reasons why Amazon thinks a customer might want to stay logged in:
"HOW DOES LOGGING OUT AFFECT MY SHOPPING EXPERIENCE?
When you log out of Amazon.com, access to your Shopping Cart, 1-Click shopping, and recommendations disappears along with your name. To regain access to the items saved in your cart, to place orders, or to view recommended items, you'll need to log in again. Just click the 'personalized recommendations' link that appears near the top of the page, and enter your e-mail address and password. "
But in a subsequent e-mail, an Amazon representative also acknowledged that there are indeed some security risks in staying logged in:
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