Lots of business owners setup a Facebook Business Page when they first get started, without realizing how difficult Facebook makes it to delete these pages later on. There are a few key reasons why you may be unable to delete your Facebook Business Page:
You don’t have admin access
If you don’t have admin access to the Facebook Business Page, you won’t be able to delete it. When a Facebook Business Page is created, the person who created it is automatically given admin access. They can then add other admins. If you didn’t create the page yourself, and weren’t added as an admin, you won’t be able to delete it.
To gain admin access, you’ll need to contact one of the existing admins and request they add you. If none of the current admins are available or willing to add you, unfortunately there’s nothing you can do without admin access.
Multiple admins
Even if you do have admin access, if there are multiple admins for the Facebook Business Page, you may not be able to delete it. Facebook requires confirmation from ALL admins before allowing a page to be deleted. This prevents one rogue admin from deleting a page without others approving it.
To get around this, you’ll need to either remove other admins until you’re the only one left, or get confirmation from all other admins that they approve deleting the page. If other admins are unresponsive or unwilling to allow deleting the page, there’s not much you can do in this situation either.
Page has active ads running
Facebook will not let you delete a Business Page if there are still active ads running on it. This prevents business pages being deleted in the middle of ad campaigns, which could cause issues for Facebook’s advertisers.
Before you can delete the page, you’ll need to pause or cancel any active ad campaigns associated with the page. You may also need to wait up to 24 hours after canceling ads before being able to delete the page.
Page merge
If you have tried to merge your Facebook Business Page with another, this can sometimes cause issues deleting pages later on. Facebook’s merge tool does not always function perfectly.
In some cases you may need to undo the merge before being able to delete the page. Other times the page may be stuck in a ‘pending delete’ status after a merge and require contacting Facebook support to fully delete it.
How to request page deletion
If none of the above issues are preventing you from deleting your Facebook Business Page, here are the steps to request page deletion:
- Go to your Facebook Business Page
- Click Settings at the bottom of your page’s left side menu
- Click Page Roles
- Click Remove Page
- Select a reason for deleting your page
- Click Confirm to submit your request
Facebook claims page deletion requests are typically processed within 90 days. However in reality it often takes much longer than this, sometimes up to a year for Facebook to fully delete a page.
Be prepared for a long wait. Don’t expect your page to be gone overnight. The best thing is submitting your deletion request and then ignoring the page, don’t expect updates from Facebook on the status.
Why Facebook makes it difficult
Facebook intentionally makes it difficult to delete Business Pages for a couple key reasons:
- To prevent important pages being lost – Facebook doesn’t want pages with lots of followers, engagement or history to be casually deleted
- To retain ad revenue – Active ads on a page generate revenue for Facebook, so they don’t want ads turned off or pages removed
- To maintain data – More data makes Facebook’s algorithms smarter, so they want to keep data even for inactive pages
While Facebook claims otherwise, their actions clearly show preserving ad revenue is likely their top priority. For most businesses though, the difficulties involved in deleting a page are merely an annoyance they have to endure.
What to do while waiting for deletion
With Facebook pages often taking many months or longer to fully delete, what should you do in the meantime while waiting?
- Unpublish the page – Remove the page from public view so only admins can see it
- Remove all admins – Delete any page roles so you’re the only admin left
- Delete all content – Unlike unpublished posts, deleted posts are gone for good
- Cancel all ads – Pause or delete any active ad campaigns associated with the page
- Disavow in Search Console – If you use Google Search Console, disavow the page URL
Essentially you want to scrub the page of anything public facing or promotional, and remove any access except your own as page admin. This helps avoid complications with deleting the page down the road.
Mistakes to avoid
When trying to remove a Facebook Business Page, there are some common mistakes that can make things even more difficult:
- Deleting your personal Facebook profile – This may remove admin access to pages
- Blocking other admins – Makes it impossible to coordinate page deletion
- Hacking or attempting unauthorized page access – May cause legal issues
- Creating new ads – Just adds more obstacles to page deletion
- Merging with the wrong page – Very difficult to undo a problematic merge
Essentially any aggressive or reactionary actions will likely backfire. Work calmly with other admins, and be prepared for an extended waiting period.
Conclusion
While Facebook makes deleting business pages challenging, with the right precautions it can be done. Arm yourself with patience, properly unlink and disavow the page, cancel all ads, and then wait for Facebook to complete the deletion request. Avoid destructive actions that could complicate things further. With time and perseverance, even the most stubborn business page can eventually be removed.