From https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/5999/how-can-i-delete-my-account > The [Help Center explains][1] that there are two cases: > > **If your account has interacted with the site** by voting or posting, go to the [Contact Support page][2.5] and fill out the form. One of > the items in the topics drop-down list is for account deletion. > > You can also get to that page via the "contact us" section on the site > footer. Please note that account deletion is not instant. It might > take several days for your request to be processed. > > Due to [a known > issue](https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/155901/further-anonymize-deleted-accounts-by-changing-the-username-prior-to-deletion), > you might want to change your username before deleting the account. > > **If your account has never voted or posted a question or answer more than once**, you should see a self-delete option on your user page > next to the *edit* link: > > ![screenshot][3] > > Either of these procedures cover deleting your account on **one > specific site**. > > **Content you've posted on the site** [is owned by you but licensed to Stack > Exchange](https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/18221/who-owns-the-content-i-post), > and you therefore cannot request that it be deleted with your account. > > Also of note, we automatically cull old inactive accounts as > documented on the blog: > > - [When is an Account Abandoned?][4] [2.5]: http://stackoverflow.com/contact [1]: http://stackoverflow.com/help/deleting-account [2]: https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/81343/how-to-sync-my-profile-on-all-stackexchange-sites [3]: https://i.sstatic.net/dlqrE.png [4]: http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2009/02/when-is-an-account-abandoned/