Facebook Insights is a free analytics tool that Facebook provides to page owners and advertisers to track metrics and insights about their Facebook pages, ads, and audience. In August 2022, Meta announced it would be sunsetting Facebook Insights in 2023 and replacing it with the Facebook Business Suite analytics platform. This led to some confusion and questions around whether Facebook Insights is going away completely or not.
Is Facebook Insights being removed?
Yes, Facebook has confirmed they will be removing Insights in 2023. The Facebook Insights tool as it currently exists will no longer be available or supported.
However, many of the key metrics and data available in Insights will still be available in the new Facebook Business Suite analytics. So while the Insights tool itself is going away, much of its functionality will remain through Business Suite.
Why is Facebook removing Insights?
Facebook has said they are sunsetting Insights and moving analytics to Business Suite to provide advertisers and page owners with more streamlined analytics in one place.
Some key reasons Facebook has given for retiring Insights include:
- Insights is being replaced by more powerful, centralized analytics in Business Suite.
- Business Suite provides analytics across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network which Insights does not.
- Reduces fragmentation of metrics across separate tools.
- Business Suite enables building custom dashboards tailored to specific business needs.
- Will allow deeper analysis with cross-channel insights.
Essentially, Facebook wants to move past having separate tools like Insights and Ads Manager, and have one consolidated suite for advertisers and businesses to monitor campaigns, engagement, and trends across all of Facebook’s platforms.
When will Facebook Insights be removed?
Facebook has stated they will sunset Insights in the first half of 2023. They have not provided an exact shutdown date yet.
Advertisers will receive advanced notice before Insights is fully deprecated. Facebook will likely give a heads up at least 30-60 days prior to the tool becoming defunct.
So companies can expect to have access to Insights for most, if not all, of 2023 before it goes away. But it’s on the chopping block for removal sometime in the first half of the year.
What metrics and data will still be available?
While the Insights tool itself is going away, Facebook has assured that all of the critical metrics Insights provides will still be available through Business Suite Analytics.
Some of the key Facebook Insights data that will remain accessible include:
- Page views
- Post reach
- Engagement (reactions, comments, shares)
- Follower growth
- Traffic source
- Post impressions
- Demographics and audience insights
Advertisers will still be able to view all of thesemetrics for their Facebook pages, ads accounts, and Instagram profiles within the Business Suite dashboard.
The native analytics experience will change, but the data itself that many rely on through Insights will continue to be available.
Will I lose historical Insights data?
Facebook has said that historical data that advertisers have accumulated within Insights will not be lost when migrating to Business Suite Analytics.
The ability to view older Insights reports and metrics prior to the transition will remain intact. Facebook ensures they will preserve businesses’ historical insights data and make it seamlessly available within Business Suite.
The one exception may be any Insights data tied solely to ads run directly through Facebook. Data for ads not run through Ads Manager may not transfer over. However page and audience data should remain unaffected.
So fortunately, the switch to Business Suite does not mean losing years of valuable Insights data that companies have come to rely on. Facebook is taking steps to maintain continuity in businesses’ data.
Will page admin functions remain in Business Suite?
Beyond analytics, Facebook Insights also provides a range of page management features for admins. This includes:
- Posts filters
- Notifications controls
- Page roles
- Tagging abilities
- Comment moderation
Facebook has confirmed that all of these essential page admin tools will also be migrated over to the Business Suite experience. Page management capabilities will be integrated natively into Business Suite.
So Insights ending does not mean losing the ability to manage, filter, or moderate your Facebook pages. Those admin functions will continue uninterrupted, just accessible now within Business Suite rather than a separate Insights tool.
How can I prepare for Facebook Insights going away?
Here are some tips businesses can follow now to prepare for Facebook’s transition from Insights to Business Suite Analytics:
- Familiarize yourself with Business Suite – Start using it now to get accustomed to the analytics and interface.
- Download historical Insights reports – Export and save any long-term Insights data you may want for records.
- Consolidate ad accounts – Consolidate Facebook ad accounts now for easier management.
- Clean up page roles – Review and adjust any assigned page roles prior to the migration.
- Verify email address – Double check the email for your ad accounts is up to date.
- Connect other channels – Link your Instagram, Messenger, etc. to integrate cross-channel insights.
Taking these proactive steps will help guarantee a smooth transition once Facebook Insights sunsets. The more familiar you become with Business Suite now, the less disruptive the change will feel when Insights retires.
Be on the lookout for further updates directly from Facebook on timing and specifics of the transition process. Maintaining open communication channels with Facebook reps can also help ensure you’re prepared.
Will I need to pay for insights after Insights goes away?
One major advantage of Facebook Insights is that it provides in-depth analytics for free. A common concern is that moving to Business Suite may require paying for the same data that Insights offers at no cost.
Fortunately, Facebook has confirmed the core analytics replacing Insights will remain free. Advertisers and page owners will not have to pay extra or upgrade to a paid tier to maintain access to their key metrics and insights.
The free Business Suite experience will continue providing the vital analytics most companies rely on – page views, reach, follower growth, demographics, etc. More advanced analysis may require a paid subscription, but entry-level insights will stay free.
Facebook realizes analytics are an integral part of optimizing campaigns and engagement on their platforms. Removing Insights but then charging for its replacement would alienate many businesses. Facebook needs to keep key metrics freely available to maintain adoption among its core advertisers.
Can I export Insights data?
For companies that want to export large amounts of historical Insights data to have their own persistent copy, Facebook does provide options to download reports.
The main way to export Insights data is through the Export Data feature. Page admins can select custom date ranges and metrics to export into either a CSV or JSON file.
This allows saving years of Insights stats to reference even once the tool is removed. The exports can be saved and backed up as needed.
Some common data businesses may want to export for records include:
- Lifetime page likes and follower growth
- Engagement and reach for top-performing posts
- Traffic sources and referral patterns
- Demographics and audience composition
With the Export Data tool, Insights offers reasonably robust capabilities for pulling and archiving analytics data before the service sunsets. The one limitation is exports only include aggregate stats, not insights on individual posts. But overall it provides solid options for backing up Insights data.
Can I still schedule posts without Insights?
Post scheduling is another helpful feature accessed directly within the Facebook Insights section. Naturally some Page admins may be curious if scheduling posts will still be possible after Insights goes away.
The good news is Facebook has confirmed post scheduling abilities will also be transferred over to Business Suite once Insights is retired. Page admins will be able to continue planning and scheduling future content through Business Suite.
And as most social media marketers know, content scheduling remains an incredibly valuable tool for planning out effective posting strategies. So losing this capability would have been quite disruptive. Fortunately Facebook realized that and ensured post scheduling will persist and be integrated into Business Suite.
Between post scheduling and data exports remaining intact, Facebook is trying to make the Insights transition as smooth as possible. These efforts help alleviate concerns and avoid disrupting businesses’ essential Facebook management workflows.
Should I continue using Facebook Insights in 2023?
Knowing that its retirement is looming, some businesses may wonder if they should even bother using Facebook Insights anymore in 2023. If it’s going away anyway, what’s the point investing time in a deprecated tool?
The recommendation is to continue relying on Insights as normal until it’s officially removed. The tool likely still has many more months of life left in 2023 before Facebook sunsets it.
Insights still provides the most convenient access to core page and audience metrics. The fact remains it’s the default analytics tool available, even as Business Suite grows in adoption.
For most brands, Insights offers the quickest insights into how your Facebook presence is performing on a day-to-day basis. It’s effectively instant and designed specifically for Facebook analytics.
Unless your team is already actively using Business Suite for managing Facebook initiatives, Insights remains the best tool for tracking real-time page analytics for the time being.
Closer to its shutdown once Facebook announces an official deprecation date, relying on Insights less makes more sense. But until then, it continues serving an invaluable purpose for FWBMXBJXGJTDKPMreliance on Insights does not have to wane until the tool’s retirement becomes imminent. Steadily transitioning over to Business Suite is recommended, but still leverage Insights while you can.
Conclusion
While the Facebook Insights tool as we currently know it is going away in 2023, advertisers will still have access to the same vital metrics and data through the Business Suite platform. Key functionality like scheduling posts will also remain intact.
The Insights shutdown marks the end of an era for one of Facebook’s original analytics tools. But the data itself will live on, just accessible through a consolidated dashboard instead of a standalone service.
For now, Facebook Insights remains the most direct source for Facebook page analytics and should be utilized as normal until it nears retirement. Long-term though, brands need to prepare for Insights’ absence by increasing adoption of Business Suite over the course of 2023.
With some proactive planning, advertisers can ensure Facebook’s analytics migration goes smoothly with minimal disruptions or data loss. While the way businesses access Facebook data is changing, the data itself will continue flowing thanks to Facebook’s efforts in facilitating the transition.