How to delete or anonymise your account

What this guide is about

If you want to leave the Online Community, you can remove your account.

If you have one post or less on your account, you can delete your account from your profile. If you have more than one post, you will need to contact the team through our service desk.

Please note that when you ask us to remove your account, we will anonymise it. This means your name and personal details are removed, but your posts stay on the forum so they can keep helping other people.

This guide will show you how to:

Download your posts before you leave.
Delete your account yourself (if you have one post or less).
Ask us to delete or anonymise your account (if you have more than one post).

Download your posts

If you want to keep a copy of your posts before deleting your account, follow these steps:

Click on your profile icon in the top right-hand corner of the page, then click on the grey person icon you will see a menu item called Preferences.

Scroll down and click Request archive.

A box will then appear asking you to confirm if you want to download it. Click Yes.

And then click OK.

You’ll receive a system notification when the file is ready to download.

Click on the system notification.

Then click on the blue ZIP file link to download your data.

Note: The download link is available for 48 hours, so be sure to download and save your file before it expires.

How to delete your account - if you have one post or less

You can delete your own account if you have made 1 post or less. If that applies to you, then you can do it yourself by following these steps:

Click on your profile picture in the top right.

Then select the grey person icon and then click Preferences.

Scroll down and click Delete Account.

A popup will then appear asking you to confirm that you would like to delete your account. Click the Delete My Account button to confirm.

How to delete your account if you have more than one post

If you have 2 or more posts, you cannot delete your account yourself, but we can help.

If you ask us to delete your account, we will make it anonymous. This means your name and details are removed. Your posts stay on the forum, but no one can tell they were yours. They can still help other people.

If you would rather have everything removed, tell us.

Option 1: Anonymise your account (our default)

This option allows your contributions to help others while removing any link to you.

Your name and details are removed, but your public posts stay.

What this means:

Your personal details (name, email, profile information) are permanently anonymised.
Your username is replaced with a random one, such as "anonymous5612966".
Your topics and posts stay on the forum, but they are no longer linked to you.
This can't be undone. We can't restore your username or details, and you won't be able to log in to that account.

Option 2: Delete your account (on request)

This option means your account will be permanently deleted and cannot be restored.

What this means:

Your profile, personal details and account data are permanently deleted from the Online Community.
Your username and posts no longer appear in the Online Community.
This can't be undone, so please be sure before you ask.

How to ask us

Contact the team through the service desk and tell us you'd like to leave. If you want to join the Online Community again, you will need to create a new account.

We are sorry to see you go, but we hope your time on the Online Community has been helpful.

Have a question?

If you’re not sure about something, you need more help, or if you’d like to share your feedback, please contact us through the Service Desk.