Gravatar is a service that allows you to have a universal profile picture across the web. Once you upload a profile image to Gravatar and associate it with your email address, that picture can automatically appear on any site that supports Gravatar integration.
While this can be useful, you may eventually want to delete your Gravatar account. Unfortunately, Gravatar does not provide an easy way to fully close an account. This article explains the options you have for canceling and disabling a Gravatar account, along with the implications.
Table of Contents
Hiding Your Gravatar Profile
The easiest way to remove your Gravatar profile is to hide it. Here are the steps:
- Login to your Gravatar account at gravatar.com
- Click on your email address in the top right corner
- Select “Disable my Gravatar”
This will hide your profile picture and data across all sites. However, it does NOT delete your account. You can re-enable it anytime by logging back in.
Deleting Associated Email Addresses
If you only want to remove certain email addresses from being linked to your Gravatar account, you can delete them individually.
To do this:
- Login to Gravatar
- Go to the “Email Addresses” section
- Click the trash icon next to any address you want to unlink
- Confirm the deletion
Just be aware that your profile will still be active and tied to any other emails associated with your account.
Closing Your WordPress.com Account
Since Gravatar is owned by Automattic, the same company that runs WordPress.com, closing your WordPress account will also disable your Gravatar profile.
To delete your WordPress account:
- Login to WordPress.com
- Go to Settings and select “Close Account”
- Confirm that you want to permanently delete your account
Important: This will erase ALL WordPress sites you own, not just disable your Gravatar. And you won’t be able to open a new WordPress account with that email for 30 days.
Contacting Gravatar Support
The only way to fully delete a Gravatar account is to contact their support team and request permanent removal.
You can submit a request at support.gravatar.com. Explain that you want your account deleted forever due to privacy concerns or not using the service anymore.
However, there is no guarantee Gravatar will comply with deletion requests. Their terms state they can maintain data for “as long as necessary.”
Using Anonymous Email Addresses
If you want to keep using Gravatar but increase privacy, register accounts using anonymous email addresses rather than personal ones.
Some popular anonymous email services include:
- AnonAddy
- SimpleLogin
- Blur
Just be aware that Gravatar may still have records of past email addresses you used, even if deleted.
Gravatar Privacy Concerns
There are valid privacy issues around Gravatar that you should consider:
- Email hashes get shared publicly, allowing potential cracking of addresses
- User data can be scraped from public profiles
- Browsing history can be tracked when logged into their site
- No way to fully delete accounts or personal information
While Gravatar states they have locked down API access to prevent abuse, security experts generally recommend not using the same personal email across multiple sites and services.
Summary
In summary:
- You can hide Gravatar profiles but they still exist
- Deleting emails removes them from being linked
- Closing a WordPress account disables Gravatar
- Contact support for full account removal
- Use anonymous addresses to increase privacy
Ideally, Gravatar would allow users to permanently delete accounts when requested. But for now, the above options are the only ways to cancel your Gravatar profile.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I delete my Gravatar account?
No, there is no direct way to delete a Gravatar account. You can contact their support team to request permanent removal. Or you can close your WordPress account since both services are owned by Automattic.
What happens if I disable my Gravatar account?
Disabling your Gravatar account hides all associated profile data and images across sites. But it does NOT delete the account itself. You can re-enable it anytime by logging back in.
If I delete my email address, will my Gravatar get removed?
No, deleting an email only unlinks it from your Gravatar account. Your profile will still be active and tied to any other addresses associated with your account.
Can someone else see my email address through Gravatar?
In some cases, yes. Gravatar uses cryptographic hashes of email addresses which can potentially be cracked to reveal the original addresses, especially for common providers like Gmail.
Is there a way to use Gravatar more privately?
Yes. Register your Gravatar account using an anonymous email address rather than a personal one. Services like AnonAddy and SimpleLogin allow you to create aliases that forward to your real inbox. This adds a layer of separation between your identity and Gravatar profile.