We’ve all been there. You clicked on a random B-movie because the thumbnail looked decent, or maybe you let your nephew watch two minutes of a cartoon you can't stand. Now, every single time you open the app, that mistake is staring you in the face. It's sitting right there in the "Continue Watching" row like a digital scar. Honestly, it’s annoying. Most people assume there's a simple "X" button on the thumbnail itself, but Amazon likes to make things a bit more complicated than that. If you're trying to figure out how to remove shows from continue watching on Prime, you aren't alone; the interface changes depending on whether you're using a smart TV, a phone, or a web browser, and the steps aren't always where you’d expect them to be.
Why the Continue Watching list is so stubborn
Amazon's algorithm is built to keep you engaged. It assumes that if you watched ten seconds of a documentary about competitive dog grooming, you clearly want to finish it. This "stickiness" is a feature for the platform, but a bug for the user experience. Unlike Netflix, which eventually added a very obvious "Remove from Row" button on most devices, Prime Video has historically hidden this functionality behind several layers of menus. It feels like you’re doing tech support for your own living room just to clean up your feed.
The reality is that "Continue Watching" is actually tied directly to your watch history. It isn’t just a list of bookmarks; it’s a reflection of your account's data logs. When you want to scrub a show, you aren't just hiding a shortcut. You are essentially telling Amazon to forget that a specific viewing event ever happened. This is why the process feels a bit heavy-handed compared to just swiping away a notification on your phone.
How to remove shows from continue watching on Prime using a web browser
If you have a laptop or a desktop nearby, this is hands-down the easiest way to handle it. The mobile app and TV interfaces are often clunky and laggy. On a browser, you get the full "Edit" suite. First, head over to the Prime Video website and make sure you're logged into the right profile. Different family members have different lists, so don't accidentally wipe your spouse's favorite series.
Once you’re on the home screen, look at the "Continue Watching" row. You'll notice an "Edit" button usually hovering near the top right of that specific section. Click it. Suddenly, little "X" icons or "Remove" buttons will appear over the titles. Click the ones you want gone. Done. It’s that simple on a PC, yet for some reason, finding that same logic on a Fire Stick or a Roku feels like a quest from an RPG.
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If that "Edit" button doesn't show up—because Amazon updates their UI more often than most of us change our oil—you have to go the long way. Go to "Settings," then "Account & Settings," and find the "Watch History" tab. This is the nuclear option. You’ll see a chronological list of everything you’ve ever watched. Find the offending show and click "Delete movie from Watch History" or "Hide this episode." This is particularly useful if you watched several episodes of a show and want the whole thing gone. Removing the history entries is the most reliable way to ensure the show doesn't crawl back into your recommendations three days later.
Handling the cleanup on Smart TVs and Fire TV devices
Most of us watch Prime Video on a TV. Navigating with a remote is a nightmare. On many newer smart TV apps, you can actually long-press the "Select" or "OK" button on your remote while highlighting a title in the "Continue Watching" row. This often triggers a side menu. Look for "Hide this season" or "Remove from list."
But wait. There’s a catch.
Sometimes that menu just... isn't there. If you’re using an older Samsung or LG TV app, the software might not have been updated with the "Remove" feature. In these cases, you are stuck using the browser method mentioned above. The good news is that Prime Video syncs across the cloud. If you delete it on your MacBook, it should vanish from your Sony TV within a few seconds, or at least after you restart the app.
The "Fast Forward" trick for stubborn titles
If you're feeling lazy and don't want to log into a computer, there is a "hack" that people have used for years. It's crude but effective. Open the show or movie you want to get rid of. Scrub or fast-forward all the way to the very end—literally the last ten seconds of the credits. Let it play out until the "Up Next" or "Related Content" screen appears.
Amazon’s system sees that you’ve reached the end of the file and marks it as "Watched." Usually, once a title is fully watched, it drops off the "Continue Watching" list because there’s nothing left to continue. Note that for TV series, this might just trigger the next episode to appear in the list. You’d have to do this for the final episode of the final season to make the whole series disappear. Honestly, it’s a lot of work, but if you’re already on the couch, it beats getting up.
Why shows sometimes reappear
You deleted it. You checked. It was gone. Then, two days later, The Rings of Power is back in your list even though you haven't touched it. Why?
Usually, this is a syncing issue between different devices. If you have Prime Video open on a tablet in the bedroom and a TV in the lounge, one device might "heartbeat" its old status back to the server. To prevent this, try to close the app on your other devices before performing a mass cleanup.
There's also the "multiple profiles" factor. If you're sharing an account with a roommate or a partner, and you’re both using the "Primary" profile, your viewing habits are going to collide. Setting up individual profiles is the only real way to keep your "Continue Watching" list from becoming a chaotic mess of your true crime documentaries and their obsession with 90s sitcoms.
The Watch History rabbit hole
If you really want to be thorough, you need to look at your "Hidden Titles" list. Tucked away in the Account Settings on the web, there’s a section for videos you’ve hidden. This is different from deleting history. Hiding a title keeps it from showing up in your recommendations and search results as "Watched."
It’s worth noting that Amazon uses your "Continue Watching" data to feed its "Because you watched..." suggestions. If you remove a show from the row but leave it in your history, you’ll still get targeted ads and recommendations based on that show. If you truly want to erase the memory of a show from your digital life, the "Watch History" tab in the web browser settings is your only true friend.
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A note on Amazon Channels
If you subscribe to Paramount+, Max, or BritBox through Amazon Channels, the "Continue Watching" row becomes even more of a graveyard. These third-party titles sometimes follow different rules. Occasionally, you might find that you can't remove a Channel show via the standard "Edit" button. If this happens, you almost always have to go into the "Watch History" settings to manually purge the episodes. It's a pain, but it works.
Actionable steps for a clean Prime Video feed
Ready to fix your feed right now? Here is the most efficient workflow to get it done without wasting an hour.
- Use a computer. Skip the TV remote and the phone app if you have more than one or two shows to remove. It’s significantly faster.
- Go to the "Watch History" page. Navigate to Amazon.com/gp/video/settings/watch-history. This is the "God Mode" for your Prime Video account.
- Delete by episode. If it's a series, you might need to delete a few recent episodes to trigger the removal of the entire show from the "Continue Watching" row.
- Refresh your apps. Close the Prime Video app on your TV or Roku and restart it. This forces the device to pull a fresh set of data from Amazon's servers, reflecting your changes immediately.
- Check your profiles. Ensure you aren't cleaning up the "Kids" profile when you meant to clean the "Adult" one, or vice-versa.
Cleaning up your Prime Video interface isn't just about aesthetics; it's about reclaiming your recommendations. When your "Continue Watching" list is full of junk you don't actually intend to finish, the algorithm gets confused. By taking five minutes to purge the clutter, you're actually training the system to show you things you'll actually enjoy. It’s a small bit of digital housekeeping that makes a massive difference in how much time you spend scrolling versus actually watching.