Help:Closing an account

Closing an account is a special option available to Fandom users that permanently disables the account across the entire Fandom network. Due to the way MediaWiki works, deleting or otherwise removing accounts is not possible.

What closing an account means

Closing an account is always available through a dedicated special page. Once you choose to close your account, the following happens:

• Your password will be scrambled into random gibberish, or will be deleted.
• If set, the name displayed on your account is deleted. Formerly, it would be changed to Account disabled.
• Your avatar picture is replaced with one of the default avatar pictures.
• Your account is marked as disabled on Special:Contributions and other Special pages.
• Your contributions and activity will be prefaced with a notice that reads "This account has been disabled globally by user choice, or by Fandom." The words "user choice" link to this page.

What closing an account does not do:

• Remove your username from any edit histories.
• Remove your username from any logs (such as blocks).
• Delete any pages you have created.
• Remove any edits you have made to any page.
• Delete any posts, messages, and comments you have made.
• Close the wiki(s) that you have founded.
• Free up the username for re-use.

Alternatives to closing

If you feel you need to quit Fandom, you can simply stop using your account. You may want to consider leaving a message on your user and user talk pages/message wall before doing this to let other community members know you have left. You can also elect not to receive e-mails from Fandom, by simply clearing your e-mail in your preferences.

If you have Bureaucrat rights on a wiki, it's recommended to promote another user to Bureaucrat before leaving Fandom or disabling your account. To do so, check the wikis that you are currently a bureaucrat on by going to Special:UserActivity, and then use Special:UserRights to make another user a bureaucrat.

You can also choose to set a new password for the account and deliberately set it to something difficult or impossible to remember. Coupled with removing the association with your email, this will have the same practical effect as closing your account.

You are also able to rename your account. Please see Rename my account for more details.

How to close your account

The disable request form on Special:CloseMyAccount.

If you believe that closing the account permanently is the right option for you, follow these steps:

• Make sure you are logged in to the account you wish to close.
• Go to Special:CloseMyAccount.
• Read the information at the top of the disabling page to verify that you mean to permanently close your account.
• If you are sure that you want to disable your account, click the option saying you have read this page and the option confirming you want your account disabled.
• Click the Close my account button. You will be automatically logged out of your account.
• At this point, you will have 30 days to log into your account again and reverse the process. After this deadline expires, your account will be permanently closed and you will no longer be able to reactivate it. Note that usernames associated with permanently disabled Fandom accounts are not vacated and therefore not reusable.
• Again, after 30 days, the change is permanent and profile contents are wiped automatically.

How to cancel a request

The Reactivate My Account form when signing back in during the 30-day grace period.

If you decide you want to reverse your decision:

• Log in to your account within 30 days of disabling it, using your regular login credentials. Instead of "Close My Account", you'll find yourself redirected to the "Reactivate My Account" page.
• Click the Reactivate My Account button.

• 

  Upon logging in to reactivate your account

  After clicking the button, you'll receive a confirmation message at the email linked to your account.
• To finalize the reactivation process, simply click the link provided in the message.

How to know if other users' accounts are disabled

If you like looking at pages on Fandom wikis such as user list, blocked users, users' profiles' etc, you might come across a user's profile or username. You might want to know whether the user's account is disabled or not. Here are the ways to know if a user's account has been disabled.

• Look at their profile picture. If a user's profile picture is one of the default profile pictures, this might tell you that their account is probably disabled. The option below will really tell you if a user's account is disabled.
• Look at their contributions and/or activity. If a user's contributions and activity tabs have a red notice on them that reads: "This account has been disabled globally by user choice, or by Fandom.", that means their account has been disabled.

Note: Sometimes, users' accounts appear to be disabled even when they don't have profile pictures. This is most likely because they haven't set up their profile pictures yet.

Note

Due to UCP changes, you will not be redirected to the old reactivation page anymore. Instead, if you are sure you want to reactivate see Close my account and it will give you an opposite redirect.

See also

• Help:Create an account
• Help:Changing your username

Further help and feedback

• Browse and search other help pages at Help:Contents
• Check Fandom Community Central for sources of further help and support
• Check Contacting Fandom for how to report any errors or unclear steps in this article