Wikipedia:Courtesy vanishing

Vanishing typically involves the following:

• Aglobal renamerorsteward responds to a rename request and renames the account to, for example, "Renamed user 157yagz5r48a5f1a1f".
• References in the history of pages to the former username are automatically replaced with references to the replacement username. Note that references made by other users will not be changed. Additionally, signatures (on user talk pages, article talk pages and project discussion pages) will not be changed, and will, by default, be redirected to the new user name. You can ask for this redirect to be removed.
• The account's user page and subpages are deleted. User talk pages are rarely deleted, and may be undeleted by community consensus.
• This action will be global due to account unification.

• Vanishing is not a way to start over with a fresh account. When you request a courtesy vanishing, it is understood that you will not be returning. If you want to start over, please follow the directions at Clean start instead of (not in addition to) this page. If you make a request to vanish, and then start over with a new account, and are then discovered, the vanishing procedure may be reversed, and your old and new accounts may be linked.
• Vanishing is not a way to avoid criticism, sanctions, or other negative attention, unless you really mean to leave permanently. As such, it might not be extended to users who have been disruptive, who leave when they lose the trust of the community, or when they are blocked or banned.
• It is not a way for accounts affiliated with organizations or interests opposed to the Wikipedia community to erase documentation that they edited Wikipedia. This could happen when an account associated with a business, for example, is criticized on their user talk page for the way they edited Wikipedia.
• Vanishing is not the best way to remove personal information that you may have accidentally revealed about yourself, especially if you want to continue editing. See the page on Oversight instead.
• If you want to change your username, users in good standing are free to request a change of username at any time. All contributions made under the old username will be re-attributed to the new username, including deleted contributions, preserving the edit history.^[a]

First, consider whether you really want to vanish, or whether a simple retirementorclean start might be more appropriate. Vanishing is a last resort and should only be used when you wish to stop editing forever and also to hide as many of your past associations as possible.

If you decide to vanish, you may wish to blank or delete your user page and any subpages in your userspace. To request deletion of any existing pages, add the {{db-user}} tag to the top of each page, and an admin will delete the page for you. Do not create a page just to request its deletion. Or you can replace your userpage with the {{Retired}} template. Note that your user talk pages will normally not be deleted except in rare cases (see below).

If you wish to take advantage of courtesy vanishing, you can use one of the following methods to make your request:

• The best way is to visit Special:GlobalVanishRequest to access the vanish request interface. Requests made this way will be processed by global renamersorstewards.
• If your request is particularly sensitive, you may contact the global renamers via e-mail and ask that your account be renamed, giving "request for courtesy vanishing" as the subject. Please use the contact interface at meta:Special:EmailUser/Wikimedia Global-renamers or email renamers wikimedia.org. If you send the mail directly, please include some kind of proof that the account is indeed yours. Please be aware a record is kept in the VRT system that can be seen by anyone with access to the renamers email queue. This is restricted to current renamers, stewards and Wikimedia Foundation staff.

There is a public request page for name change requests, but this is not recommended because it will leave a public record of your request to vanish that cannot itself be hidden.

If you have questions about vanishing, or have concerns that might be addressable by a less permanent method, you may want to contact a Functionary or a member of the Arbitration Committee for advice.

Finally, consider the following:

• If you have an email address associated with your account, remove it at Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-personal-email.
• Review the remaining data associated with your account, and restore the default preferences (Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-personal).
• Scramble your password. Please choose something long and random, to prevent someone else taking over the account.

While user pages and subpages may be deleted, the deletion of established users' talk pages is invariably controversial, and is the rare exception, not the rule. This is because user talk pages, unlike other user pages, have largely been written by other editors. User talk pages should not be speedy deleted by admins. Users who wish to delete user talk pages should consult a Functionary or the Arbitration Committee. Community consensus is that user talk pages should be deleted only where there is a compelling reason to do so—related to serious privacy concerns and the potential for real-world harm. Otherwise, user talk pages should be deleted only at MfD. Any deletion can be challenged and overturned at deletion review. User talk pages should never be moved to become user subpages to facilitate deletion.

• Wikipedia:Anonymity
• Wikipedia:Changing username
• Wikipedia:Clean start
• Meta:Right to vanish
• Wikipedia:Retiring
• Wikipedia:Sleeper account
• Template:Userbox Ex-Wikipedia
• Wikipedia:Missing Wikipedians
• Phabricator: T8397 - Flag to mark accounts locked/hidden (aka remove/delete user)