Why request the export first
Editing or hiding a Gravatar profile changes what others see, but it is not the same as keeping a copy of your own data. If you want a private record before you make changes, request the export while you can still sign in to the account that owns the profile. Treat the archive as your owner copy, not as proof that it contains every field the service stores.
Requesting the export
- Sign in to the Gravatar account that owns the profile you plan to change.
- Open the top-right email menu.
- Choose Security and data.
- Under Export data, choose Request.
Gravatar’s export request is available after login through the top-right email menu, Security and data, and Request under Export data. Source
- Select Send me my data to start packaging.
Selecting Send me my data starts packaging; Gravatar then emails a ZIP containing profile data when the export is complete. Source
Track the request through four states
| State | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Requested | You have submitted the export request from the signed-in account. | Note the account email and the date you requested it. Do not change the profile yet if you want the request to reflect the current state. |
| Pending | Packaging has started, but the email has not arrived. | Check the inbox and spam folder of the email address on that account. Do not request repeatedly unless you have a reason to believe the first request failed. |
| Received | An email with a ZIP attachment has arrived. | Confirm the sender and that you expected this request before opening anything. |
| Opened locally | You have opened the ZIP on your own device. | Review the contents against your own records and store the file somewhere private. |
Do not upload the ZIP to a third-party site, a file-sharing link or a chat service to “check” it. The archive is your personal data; opening it locally keeps control with you.
Check you are in the source account
Before and after requesting, confirm the account details:
- The email address shown in the top-right menu is the one you expect.
- The profile you plan to change is the one tied to this signed-in account, not a second account you may have used earlier.
- You can still receive mail at that address.
If you are unsure which account owns the profile, resolve that first. An export from a different account will not describe the profile you are about to change.
Checklist for the received file
- The email arrived at the address on the account you signed in with.
- The attachment is a ZIP, as described in the export email.
- You opened it on a device you control, not through a shared or public computer.
- You stored a copy somewhere private and know how to find it later.
- You noted the date you received it alongside the date you requested it.
What the archive contains is defined by the service, not by this guide. Do not assume it includes every field, every historical version or anything the service does not place in the export. If a field you care about is missing, treat that as a question for the service rather than as proof it was never stored.
What this does not do
- It does not change your public profile, search visibility or account settings.
- It does not prove the export is exhaustive.
- It does not give you a recovery code or a way back into an account you cannot sign in to.
- It does not delete anything.
Keep your normal sign-in and recovery method working until any later change is complete. Removing a login connection or emptying a profile is not the same as deleting stored data.
A useful next step
If your goal after archiving is to limit what the public can see rather than to close the account, the next task is deciding what should be hidden and from whom. That is a separate decision from holding an owner copy. See hiding Gravatar profile data from public access rather than only from the profile page for that follow-up.
If you are instead trying to follow a known public username across sites, TraceSeek is an optional app for that separate task. It does not change Gravatar settings, provide recovery codes, retrieve money or verify anyone’s real identity, and a public username match is a lead, not proof of ownership.