diff --git a/app/controllers/users_controller.rb b/app/controllers/users_controller.rb
index 6ab1a14c4..d2650513d 100644
--- a/app/controllers/users_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/users_controller.rb
@@ -131,7 +131,6 @@ class UsersController < ApplicationController
     user_deletion.delete!
 
     if user_deletion.errors.none?
-      session.delete(:user_id)
       flash[:notice] = "Your account has been deactivated"
       respond_with(user_deletion, location: posts_path)
     else
diff --git a/app/jobs/delete_user_job.rb b/app/jobs/delete_user_job.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7a8e576ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/jobs/delete_user_job.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+# A job that deletes a user's settings and other personal data when they delete their account.
+class DeleteUserJob < ApplicationJob
+  queue_as :default
+  queue_with_priority 20
+
+  def perform(user)
+    UserDeletion.new(user: user).delete_user
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/logical/session_loader.rb b/app/logical/session_loader.rb
index 97b84f88a..703ba595e 100644
--- a/app/logical/session_loader.rb
+++ b/app/logical/session_loader.rb
@@ -46,11 +46,11 @@ class SessionLoader
   end
 
   # Logs the current user out. Deletes their session cookie and records a logout event.
-  def logout
+  def logout(user = CurrentUser.user)
     session.delete(:user_id)
     session.delete(:last_authenticated_at)
-    return if CurrentUser.user.is_anonymous?
-    UserEvent.create_from_request!(CurrentUser.user, :logout, request)
+    return if user.is_anonymous?
+    UserEvent.create_from_request!(user, :logout, request)
   end
 
   # Sets the current user. Runs on each HTTP request. The user is set based on
diff --git a/app/logical/user_deletion.rb b/app/logical/user_deletion.rb
index efc882350..5ae143379 100644
--- a/app/logical/user_deletion.rb
+++ b/app/logical/user_deletion.rb
@@ -12,8 +12,9 @@ class UserDeletion
   validate :validate_deletion
 
   # Initialize a user deletion.
+  #
   # @param user [User] the user to delete
-  # @param user [User] the user performing the deletion
+  # @param deleter [User] the user performing the deletion
   # @param password [String] the user's password (for confirmation)
   # @param request the HTTP request (for logging the deletion in the user event log)
   def initialize(user:, deleter: user, password: nil, request: nil)
@@ -24,43 +25,64 @@ class UserDeletion
   end
 
   # Delete the account, if the deletion is allowed.
-  # @return [Boolean] if the deletion failed
-  # @return [User] if the deletion succeeded
+  #
+  # @return [Boolean] True if the deletion was successful, false otherwise.
   def delete!
     return false if invalid?
 
-    clear_user_settings
-    remove_favorites
-    clear_saved_searches
-    rename
-    reset_password
-    create_mod_action
-    create_user_event
-    user
+    user.with_lock do
+      rename
+      reset_password
+      async_delete_user
+      ModAction.log("deleted user ##{user.id}", :user_delete, subject: user, user: deleter)
+      UserEvent.create_from_request!(user, :user_deletion, request) if request.present?
+      SessionLoader.new(request).logout(user) if user == deleter
+    end
+
+    true
   end
 
-  private
-
-  def create_mod_action
-    ModAction.log("deleted user ##{user.id}", :user_delete, subject: user, user: deleter)
+  # Calls `delete_user`.
+  def async_delete_user
+    DeleteUserJob.perform_later(user)
   end
 
-  def create_user_event
-    UserEvent.create_from_request!(user, :user_deletion, request) if request.present?
+  def delete_user
+    delete_user_data
+    delete_user_settings
   end
 
-  def clear_saved_searches
-    SavedSearch.where(user_id: user.id).destroy_all
+  def delete_user_data
+    user.api_keys.destroy_all
+    user.forum_topic_visits.destroy_all
+    user.saved_searches.destroy_all
+    user.favorite_groups.is_private.destroy_all
+
+    user.post_votes.active.negative.find_each do |vote|
+      vote.soft_delete!(updater: user)
+    end
+
+    if user.enable_private_favorites
+      user.favorites.destroy_all
+      user.post_votes.active.positive.find_each do |vote|
+        vote.soft_delete!(updater: user)
+      end
+    end
   end
 
-  def clear_user_settings
+  def delete_user_settings
     user.email_address = nil
     user.last_logged_in_at = nil
     user.last_forum_read_at = nil
-    user.favorite_tags = ""
-    user.blacklisted_tags = ""
-    user.show_deleted_children = false
-    user.time_zone = "Eastern Time (US & Canada)"
+
+    User::USER_PREFERENCE_BOOLEAN_ATTRIBUTES.each do |attribute|
+      user.send("#{attribute}=", false)
+    end
+
+    %w[time_zone comment_threshold default_image_size favorite_tags blacklisted_tags custom_style per_page theme].each do |attribute|
+      user[attribute] = User.column_defaults[attribute]
+    end
+
     user.save!
   end
 
@@ -68,10 +90,6 @@ class UserDeletion
     user.update!(password: SecureRandom.hex(16))
   end
 
-  def remove_favorites
-    DeleteFavoritesJob.perform_later(user)
-  end
-
   def rename
     name = "user_#{user.id}"
     name += "~" while User.exists?(name: name)
diff --git a/app/models/user.rb b/app/models/user.rb
index 31c93746c..518171d21 100644
--- a/app/models/user.rb
+++ b/app/models/user.rb
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@ class User < ApplicationRecord
 
   ACTIVE_BOOLEAN_ATTRIBUTES = BOOLEAN_ATTRIBUTES.grep_v(/unused/)
 
+  # Personal preferences that are editable by the user, rather than internal flags. These will be cleared when the user deactivates their account.
+  USER_PREFERENCE_BOOLEAN_ATTRIBUTES = ACTIVE_BOOLEAN_ATTRIBUTES - %w[is_banned requires_verification is_verified]
+
   DEFAULT_BLACKLIST = ["guro", "scat", "furry -rating:g"].join("\n")
 
   attribute :id
diff --git a/app/views/users/deactivate.html.erb b/app/views/users/deactivate.html.erb
index 3528325ef..dd25b132f 100644
--- a/app/views/users/deactivate.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/users/deactivate.html.erb
@@ -9,17 +9,19 @@
       <h1>Deactivate Account: <%= link_to_user @user %></h1>
     <% end %>
 
-    <div class="prose mb-4">
+    <div class="prose mb-4 fixed-width-container">
       <p>
-        You can deactivate your <%= Danbooru.config.app_name %> account by entering your password below. Deactivating
-        your account will do the following things:
-      </p>
+        You can deactivate your account by entering your password below. Deactivating your account will delete your
+        private account information, but it will not delete your contributions to the site.
+
+      </p>Deactivating your account will do the following things: </p>
 
       <ul>
         <li>Change your username to a generic username (<i>user_<%= @user.id %></i>).</li>
-        <li>Delete your password, email address, and account settings.</li>
-        <li>Delete your favorites.</li>
-        <li>Delete your saved searches.</li>
+        <li>Delete your password, email address, <%= link_to_wiki "API keys", "help:api" %>, and account settings.</li>
+        <li>Delete your <%= link_to_wiki "saved searches", "help:saved_searches" %>.</li>
+        <li>Delete your <%= link_to_wiki "private favorite groups", "help:favorite_groups" %>.</li>
+        <li>Delete your private favorites and upvotes (only if <%= link_to_wiki "privacy mode", "help:privacy_mode" %> is enabled).</li>
       </ul>
 
       <p>
@@ -33,6 +35,8 @@
         <li>Your login history, including your IP address and geographic location. This is kept for moderation purposes.</li>
       </ul>
 
+      <p>If you just want to change your username, you can <%= link_to "change your name here", change_name_user_path(@user) %>.</p>
+
       <p>
         Enter your password below to deactivate your account. This cannot be
         undone. Your account cannot be recovered after it is deactivated.
diff --git a/test/unit/user_deletion_test.rb b/test/unit/user_deletion_test.rb
index d9b208a8a..c13ec67d5 100644
--- a/test/unit/user_deletion_test.rb
+++ b/test/unit/user_deletion_test.rb
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ class UserDeletionTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
     @request.stubs(:remote_ip).returns("1.1.1.1")
     @request.stubs(:user_agent).returns("Firefox")
     @request.stubs(:session).returns(session_id: "1234")
+    @request.stubs(:query_parameters).returns({})
+    @request.stubs(:delete).with(:user_id).returns(nil)
+    @request.stubs(:delete).with(:last_authenticatd_at).returns(nil)
   end
 
   context "an invalid user deletion" do
@@ -39,12 +42,20 @@ class UserDeletionTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
 
   context "a valid user deletion" do
     setup do
-      @user = create(:user, name: "foo", email_address: build(:email_address))
+      @user = create(:gold_user, name: "foo", email_address: build(:email_address))
+      @api_key = create(:api_key, user: @user)
+      @favorite = create(:favorite, user: @user)
+      @forum_topic_visit = as(@user) { create(:forum_topic_visit, user: @user) }
+      @saved_search = create(:saved_search, user: @user)
+      @public_favgroup = create(:favorite_group, creator: @user, is_public: true)
+      @private_favgroup = create(:favorite_group, creator: @user, is_public: false)
+      @post_downvote = create(:post_vote, score: -1)
+      @post_upvote = create(:post_vote, score: 1)
       @deletion = UserDeletion.new(user: @user, password: "password", request: @request)
     end
 
     should "blank out the email" do
-      @deletion.delete!
+      perform_enqueued_jobs { @deletion.delete! }
       assert_nil(@user.reload.email_address)
     end
 
@@ -54,12 +65,10 @@ class UserDeletionTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
     end
 
     should "generate a user name change request" do
-      assert_difference("UserNameChangeRequest.count") do
-        @deletion.delete!
-      end
-
-      assert_equal("foo", UserNameChangeRequest.last.original_name)
-      assert_equal("user_#{@user.id}", UserNameChangeRequest.last.desired_name)
+      @deletion.delete!
+      assert_equal(1, @user.user_name_change_requests.count)
+      assert_equal("foo", @user.user_name_change_requests.last.original_name)
+      assert_equal("user_#{@user.id}", @user.user_name_change_requests.last.desired_name)
     end
 
     should "reset the password" do
@@ -75,14 +84,60 @@ class UserDeletionTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
       assert_equal(@deletion.deleter, ModAction.last.creator)
     end
 
-    should "remove any favorites" do
-      @post = create(:post)
-      Favorite.create!(post: @post, user: @user)
-
+    should "remove the user's favorites if they have private favorites" do
+      @user.update!(enable_private_favorites: true)
       perform_enqueued_jobs { @deletion.delete! }
 
-      assert_equal(0, Favorite.count)
-      assert_equal(0, @post.reload.fav_count)
+      assert_equal(0, @user.favorites.count)
+      assert_equal(0, @user.reload.favorite_count)
+    end
+
+    should "not remove the user's favorites if they have public favorites" do
+      perform_enqueued_jobs { @deletion.delete! }
+
+      assert_equal(1, @user.favorites.count)
+      assert_equal(1, @user.favorite_count)
+    end
+
+    should "remove the user's API keys" do
+      perform_enqueued_jobs { @deletion.delete! }
+
+      assert_equal(0, @user.api_keys.count)
+    end
+
+    should "remove the user's forum topic visits" do
+      perform_enqueued_jobs { @deletion.delete! }
+
+      assert_equal(0, @user.forum_topic_visits.count)
+    end
+
+    should "remove the user's saved searches" do
+      perform_enqueued_jobs { @deletion.delete! }
+
+      assert_equal(0, @user.saved_searches.count)
+    end
+
+    should "remove the user's private favgroups but not their public favgroups" do
+      perform_enqueued_jobs { @deletion.delete! }
+
+      assert_equal(0, @user.favorite_groups.is_private.count)
+      assert_equal(1, @user.favorite_groups.is_public.count)
+      assert_not_nil(@public_favgroup.reload)
+    end
+
+    should "only remove the user's downvotes if the don't have private votes enabled" do
+      perform_enqueued_jobs { @deletion.delete! }
+
+      assert_equal(0, @user.post_votes.active.negative.count)
+      assert_equal(1, @user.post_votes.active.positive.count)
+    end
+
+    should "remove both the user's upvotes and downvotes if they have private votes enabled" do
+      @user.update!(enable_private_favorites: true)
+      perform_enqueued_jobs { @deletion.delete! }
+
+      assert_equal(0, @user.post_votes.active.negative.count)
+      assert_equal(0, @user.post_votes.active.positive.count)
     end
   end