diff --git a/synapse/handlers/deactivate_account.py b/synapse/handlers/deactivate_account.py
index 7f9435179a..bd7b1f30e0 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/deactivate_account.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/deactivate_account.py
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ class DeactivateAccountHandler(BaseHandler):
         yield self.store.user_set_password_hash(user_id, None)
 
         user = UserID.from_string(user_id)
-        yield self._profile_handler.set_active(user, False)
+        yield self._profile_handler.set_active(user, False, False)
 
         # Add the user to a table of users pending deactivation (ie.
         # removal from all the rooms they're a member of)
diff --git a/synapse/handlers/profile.py b/synapse/handlers/profile.py
index 65e29518f0..0a952dab97 100644
--- a/synapse/handlers/profile.py
+++ b/synapse/handlers/profile.py
@@ -270,10 +270,13 @@ class BaseProfileHandler(BaseHandler):
         run_in_background(self._replicate_profiles)
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
-    def set_active(self, target_user, active):
+    def set_active(self, target_user, active, hide):
         """
         Sets the 'active' flag on a user profile. If set to false, the user account is
-        considered deactivated.
+        considered deactivated or hidden.
+        If 'hide' is true, then we interpret active=False as a request to try to hide the
+        user rather than deactivating it.  This means withholding the profile from replication
+        (and mark it as inactive) rather than clearing the profile from the HS DB.
         Note that unlike set_displayname and set_avatar_url, this does *not* perform
         authorization checks! This is because the only place it's used currently is
         in account deactivation where we've already done these checks anyway.
@@ -284,7 +287,7 @@ class BaseProfileHandler(BaseHandler):
         else:
             new_batchnum = None
         yield self.store.set_profile_active(
-            target_user.localpart, active, new_batchnum
+            target_user.localpart, active, hide, new_batchnum
         )
 
         # start a profile replication push
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account_data.py b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account_data.py
index 371e9aa354..21c734e525 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account_data.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v2_alpha/account_data.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ from twisted.internet import defer
 
 from synapse.api.errors import AuthError, SynapseError
 from synapse.http.servlet import RestServlet, parse_json_object_from_request
+from synapse.types import UserID
 
 from ._base import client_v2_patterns
 
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@ class AccountDataServlet(RestServlet):
         self.auth = hs.get_auth()
         self.store = hs.get_datastore()
         self.notifier = hs.get_notifier()
+        self._profile_handler = hs.get_profile_handler()
 
     @defer.inlineCallbacks
     def on_PUT(self, request, user_id, account_data_type):
@@ -47,6 +49,11 @@ class AccountDataServlet(RestServlet):
 
         body = parse_json_object_from_request(request)
 
+        if account_data_type == "im.vector.hide_profile":
+            user = UserID.from_string(user_id)
+            hide_profile = body.get('hide_profile')
+            yield self._profile_handler.set_active(user, not hide_profile, True)
+
         max_id = yield self.store.add_account_data_for_user(
             user_id, account_data_type, body
         )
diff --git a/synapse/storage/profile.py b/synapse/storage/profile.py
index 10133f0a4a..488e31c8b2 100644
--- a/synapse/storage/profile.py
+++ b/synapse/storage/profile.py
@@ -147,12 +147,14 @@ class ProfileWorkerStore(SQLBaseStore):
             lock=False  # we can do this because user_id has a unique index
         )
 
-    def set_profile_active(self, user_localpart, active, batchnum):
+    def set_profile_active(self, user_localpart, active, hide, batchnum):
         values = {
             "active": int(active),
             "batch": batchnum,
         }
-        if not active:
+        if not active and not hide:
+            # we are deactivating for real (not in hide mode)
+            # so clear the profile.
             values["avatar_url"] = None
             values["displayname"] = None
         return self._simple_upsert(