Can I delete Facebook Business Manager account?

Facebook Business Manager is a tool that allows businesses to manage their presence across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Audience Network. It provides access to business accounts, ad accounts, Pages, applications and more from one central location.

You may want to delete your Business Manager account for several reasons – closing down your business, consolidating accounts, or starting fresh with a new account. When you delete a Business Manager account, it removes access to all the connected assets like Pages, ad accounts etc. However, deleting the account doesn’t delete the assets themselves. The Pages, ad accounts etc will still exist, but you won’t be able to access them from that Business Manager account anymore.

Can you delete a Facebook Business Manager account?

Yes, it is possible to delete a Facebook Business Manager account. However, it’s a permanent action and cannot be undone. Once you delete the Business Manager, you will lose access to all connected ad accounts, Pages, Instagram accounts etc. The accounts themselves will still exist, but you won’t be able to manage them from that particular Business Manager anymore.

How to delete a Facebook Business Manager account

Follow these steps to delete your Facebook Business Manager account:

Go to Business Manager and click on your account name in the left sidebar.
In the Account Center, click on “Settings” in the left menu.

Under “Account Ownership and Control”, click on “Delete Account”.
A popup will appear asking “Are you sure you want to delete this account?” Click on “Continue”.
Enter your account password and click “Confirm”.

Once you confirm, the Business Manager account will be scheduled for deletion. It can take up to 90 days for the account to be completely deleted along with all its data.

What happens when you delete a Business Manager account?

Here are the key things that happen when you delete a Facebook Business Manager account:

You will immediately lose access to the Business Manager account and all connected assets like Pages, ad accounts, Instagram accounts etc.

All other Business Manager admins will also lose access to assets through that account.
The connected Pages, ad accounts, Instagram accounts will continue to exist but won’t be accessible from that Business Manager.
Facebook initiates the account deletion process which can take up to 90 days for completion.

Once deleted, the account and all its data like ad campaigns, billing information, etc will be permanently removed.
If you used the same email or phone number for personal Facebook or Instagram accounts, those will not be impacted.

Can you recover a deleted Facebook Business Manager account?

No, once you delete a Facebook Business Manager account, it cannot be recovered. The deletion is permanent and irreversible. Facebook does not have an option to restore deleted Business Manager accounts.

The only option is to create a new Business Manager account and re-connect assets like Pages and ad accounts to it. However, all previous data associated with the deleted account including ad campaigns, billing details, audience insights will be lost forever.

What happens to connected Pages when you delete Business Manager?

The Pages connected to the deleted Business Manager account will not be deleted. However, you will lose administrator access to those Pages. Here is what happens to the Pages:

The Page names, likers, posts etc will all remain intact. The Page will continue to exist.

Since the Page admin access came from the Business Manager, that will be removed once account is deleted.
If there are other admins for the Page not associated with that Business Manager, they will retain their roles.
You will have to create a new Business Manager account and send new admin requests to regain access.

If there are no other admins, the Page will become unmanaged but still visible to public.

Regaining admin access to Pages

To regain admin access to Pages after deleting Business Manager, you will need to:

Create a new Business Manager account

Find the Page IDs of your Pages that you lost access to
Submit new administrator access requests for those Pages via the new Business Manager
Once approved, you will regain admin capabilities for those Pages

What happens to ad accounts when Business Manager is deleted?

The ad accounts connected to the Business Manager will not get deleted, but you’ll lose access to manage and use them. Here is what happens:

The ad accounts will continue to spend if they have active campaigns still running.
You will not be able to access campaign data or make changes.

Billing details associated with the ad accounts will no longer be accessible.
To regain access, add the ad accounts to a new Business Manager via Ads Manager by their IDs.
Campaign history or audience data cannot be recovered once Business Manager is deleted.

Can you delete a Business Manager if you have active ads running?

Yes, you can delete a Facebook Business Manager account even if you have active ad campaigns running under it. Here’s what will happen:

Your active ad campaigns will continue to spend as per schedule after deletion.
You will immediately lose the ability to make any changes, pause/stop ads etc.

The ads will keep running until their end date or ad budget is exhausted.
You cannot use the same ad accounts for new campaigns until they are added to a new Business Manager.
Billing and payment information will become inaccessible after deletion.

Therefore, its recommended to pause or close any active ad campaigns and wait for them to finish before deleting Business Manager.

Should you delete or disable a Business Manager account?

Instead of completely deleting a Business Manager, you can choose to disable it if you may need to access it again later. Here’s a comparison:

Delete Business Manager	Disable Business Manager
Permanently removes account and all data	Temporarily deactivates account but retains data
Cannot be undone or recovered	Can be reactivated anytime
Lose access to all connected assets indefinitely	Assets remain connected and can be managed if reactivated
Ad accounts need to be re-added via IDs	Ad accounts remain available if account is re-enabled
Can take up to 90 days to fully delete	Instantly deactivates account and connected assets

In most cases, disabling a Business Manager temporarily is safer than permanently deleting it in case you need the data or access later.

How to disable a Business Manager account

Follow these steps to disable a Facebook Business Manager account:

Go to Business Settings and click “Status”
Toggle the status to “Disabled”

Confirm that you want to disable the account
The account and all connected assets will be immediately disabled
To re-enable, just switch the toggle back to “Enabled”

What happens when you disable a Business Manager account?

Disabling a Business Manager deactivates the account and revokes access to connected assets like Pages, ad accounts etc. However, all the data is retained and can be restored.

You will be logged out of Business Manager immediately
All connected ad accounts, Pages, Instagram accounts etc will be disabled

No one will be able to manage the assets through that Business Manager
Re-enabling the account will restore access to all assets
The account data like connected assets, users, billing details etc is retained

Should you create a new Business Manager or use an existing one?

If you are setting up Facebook business tools for the first time, creating a new Business Manager just for your business is recommended. However, if you already have a Business Manager, you can use the same one.

Here are some tips on whether to create a new Business Manager or use an existing one:

Use existing if you already manage other assets through it like Pages or ad accounts

Create new if you want to start fresh with no existing connections
Use existing if it has important billing/payment info you want to retain
Create new if you want to organize different businesses into separate accounts

Adding new businesses to existing accounts can cause reporting complications
New is better if you want to clearly segment assets across businesses

Can you merge multiple Business Manager accounts?

No, Facebook does not allow merging multiple Business Manager accounts together. Each Business Manager operates as a separate entity.

If you have multiple existing Business Managers that you want to consolidate, you will have to manually move assets from one to another.

Steps to consolidate Business Manager accounts:

Select a primary Business Manager that will be your main account

Disable secondary Business Managers that you want to migrate from
In primary account, send admin access requests for Pages, ad accounts etc from secondary ones
Accept admin requests to add those assets to your primary Business Manager

Delete disabled secondary Business Manager accounts after migrating all assets

Best practices when deleting a Business Manager

If you have decided to permanently delete your Facebook Business Manager, here are some best practices to follow:

Backup any important data like campaign history or creatives

Make note of the Page IDs and ad account IDs you’ll need later
Remove payment information and cancel any active subscriptions
Pause or close any active ad campaigns

Remove users and revoke any Page roles if possible
Be sure you really want to delete, as its irreversible
Double check connected assets before deleting

Have a new Business Manager ready first to re-connect assets

Common issues with deleting Business Manager

Some common issues and mistakes to avoid when deleting a Business Manager account:

Not backing up data that you need later like campaign history

Not recording IDs of Pages/ad accounts before deleting account
Deleting account before removing billing details
Letting campaigns continue to run after deletion

Not having a plan to regain access to Pages after losing admin rights
Not checking for other Business Manager users who will lose access
Thinking a deleted account can be recovered (it can’t)

Conclusion

In summary:

It is possible to delete your Facebook Business Manager account, but it’s permanent
All connected ad accounts, Pages, and assets will be disconnected and inaccessible

You’ll have to add the Pages/ad accounts to a new Business Manager via their IDs
Disable instead of delete if you may need the account again in the future
Take precautions like pausing ads, noting IDs, and backing up data first

Be sure you want to delete fully, as the account cannot be restored once deleted

With the right preparation and expectations, deleting a Business Manager account is straightforward. Weigh the factors carefully before deleting an account, as the assets and data will be permanently inaccessible after.