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When one has to merge two accounts, they're prompted by something like this with input fields for each account link:

Account 1:

Account 1 link.

Account 2:

Account 2 link.

When the merge completes, which account details are preserved, like the display name, or the profile description? Account 1, or account 2?

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  • The oldest account will be chosen as the "master".
    – Oded
    Oct 2, 2015 at 15:58
  • @Oded Is there a way to change that? I'd prefer the newer account to be the "master". Oct 2, 2015 at 15:59
  • No, not really. And why does it matter? You can always update the display name and about me once the merge has gone through.
    – Oded
    Oct 2, 2015 at 16:00
  • @Oded Actually, I have another question. Does it preserve login data, like emails associated with the account, or are those overwritten when the merge occurs? Oct 2, 2015 at 18:47
  • They get... merged. In other words, they are not lost.
    – Oded
    Oct 2, 2015 at 19:13

1 Answer 1

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When you attempt to merge accounts, the system will always select the account with the lower user ID to be the base user, because that is the older account.

We frequently tell people not to worry about this, because it really doesn't matter at all. The only thing that might be different is the public info such as display name and bio, but you can very easily change this. If you're concerned, you can also just copy these details so that they're the same on both profiles before you complete the merge (remember display names are not unique), or save a local copy of the information attached to the account with the higher user ID.

Past that, all your credentials, posts, comments, and everything else end up under one account, so there's nothing else attached to a particular account that really requires merging into a specific profile over another.

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  • "the system will always select the account with the lower user ID" I had an account merge (that I never asked for) a little over a year ago and my user id was changed to one that is newer than both accounts (at least on Stack Overflow). Can this be corrected somehow? If so, do I create a meta post? Use the "Contact us" link? Something else?
    – 41686d6564
    Dec 15, 2020 at 2:18
  • @41686d6564 No there is no way to change it. The merge worked correctly, as it selects the account Id and not an individual site Id. Your merge from a year ago was as follows: "Merging child accountId: 6357394 into parent accountId: 6001966" That does sometimes mean a particular site will merge into a higher Id, though it is rare. But there is nothing we can do about it.
    – animuson StaffMod
    Dec 15, 2020 at 3:50
  • I see. Thanks for the clarification.
    – 41686d6564
    Dec 15, 2020 at 3:53

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