How to Delete Facebook Page - Step by Step Guide [2024 Edition]
Have you ever wondered how to delete a Facebook page?
Whether it's your own dead business page or a copycat page pretending to be you, removing unwanted Facebook pages is a tricky task.
In this article, Iâll guide you through the step-by-step process of deleting a Facebook page, whether itâs your own or an impersonatorâs.
Weâll learn:
But before that, letâs explore some reasons why people delete Facebook pages.
200+ million brands use Meta to create virtual storefront and reach customers. As a result, 1+ billion people connect with businesses on Facebook every week.
So whyâd anyone want to delete their Facebook business page and lose this much potential exposure?
There are plenty of reasons why someone might choose to delete their own or someone elseâs Facebook page.
So how do we delete a Facebook page?
While doing some research on this topic, I had to read all articles appearing on the first 2 pages in Google SERP.
But unfortunately, none of these articles talk about removing fake, copy-cat Facebook pages. Every article focuses on deleting your own Facebook page.
So in this article, Iâm going to address the imposter issue first and then we move step by step tutorial on how to delete your Facebook business page.
Letâs start with deleting imposter Facebook pages.
Is it possible to delete a page you donât own?
Well you canât delete someoneâs page directly. Thereâs no âdelete pageâ button in Facebook page options.
If you believe a page is impersonating you, violating your trademark or copyright, or posting inappropriate content, you can report it to Facebook.
But is it legal to report a page?
While doing research, I didnât find any lawsuits or court proceedings hinting any legal consequence of reporting a Facebook page.
So yes, itâs fully legal to report a page on Facebook. You can report any profile or page that you believe is inappropriate or pretending to be someone else.
Facebook has a strict Account integrity and authentic identity policy and Facebook encourages users to report accounts that go against this policy.
Meta also takes impersonation seriously and suspends accounts involved in identity misrepresentation and impersonation.
In short, itâs fully legal to report a page if it goes against Facebook community guidelines.
But how do I report a Facebook page?
I mentioned 2 main reasons youâd want to delete someoneâs Facebook page. Letâs learn how to report for each reason one by one.
This type of report is easy and you can do it using any web browser on your PC, in 6 simple steps.
But how do I report a page on a mobile phone?
The process is not different from the web version. You can open your Facebook account in a web browser on your phone and repeat the steps.
But if youâre using Facebook, you might have the app installed on your phone.
So hereâs how to report a page using the Facebook app.
If you look at the menu that appears when you click on the âReport profileâ button, youâll see a âpretending to be somethingâ option too.
So can I report an account impersonating me through this option?
Yes and No! đ€
You can report an imposter using this method. In most obvious cases of impersonation, it will work.
This method only works if you or the person being impersonated has an active Facebook account or page.
Facebook will ask you for some additional information to verify you are the original person or genuine business and delete the fake account.
But what if you donât have a Facebook business page and someone created a fake page pretending to be you?
This method wonât work. Letâs see how to delete that imposter page without a Facebook account.
But first of all, how do I identify all imposter pages?
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Finding imposter pages is really easy. You can identify pages impersonating you through Facebook pages search option.
This will show you all results matching your search query. Itâs not necessary that all results are imposters.
To identify pages impersonating you/your business, youâll need to check their category, description, website, contact details, etc.
Doing all this manually will take a lot of time, especially if there are too many copycats.
But I got a solution for you to automate imposter detection.
We can use Lobstr.io to scrape Facebook pages data and identify imposters using Facebook Pages Search Export in 5 easy steps.
I have already published a detailed guide on How to Scrape Facebook Business Pages from Search, explaining all steps in detail. Do check it out.
Once we have the spreadsheet, we can easily sort and filter out irrelevant results and have a list of imposters ready to report.
For even detailed analysis, you can use Facebook Page Details Export which even collects visits, about sections, and other details.
Before reporting, Iâd suggest sending them a warning email. Since Lobstr collects their email addresses too, contacting them wonât be a problem.
Here's a sample email, you can customize it as you like.
fSubject: Immediate Action Required: Unauthorized Use of Business Name Dear [Recipient's Name], It has come to our attention that your Facebook page, [Page Name], is impersonating our business, [Your Business Name]. We are the legitimate owners of [Your Business Name], and your page is misleading our customers and damaging our brand's reputation. We request that you take immediate action to either change the name of your page or delete it entirely to avoid any further confusion or legal consequences. If this matter is not resolved promptly, we will have no choice but to report your page to Facebook and pursue legal action to protect our brand. Please confirm your compliance within [specify a reasonable time frame, e.g., 7 days] from the date of this email. Failure to comply will result in us taking the necessary steps to have your page removed and to seek legal recourse for trademark infringement and brand impersonation. Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. Sincerely, [Your Full Name] [Your Position] [Your Business Name] [Your Contact Information] [Your Business Address]
But how do I report these imposters?
If someone is using your or your business name directly, you can fill the imposter report form and get that copy-cat account or page deleted.
Facebook typically responds to such reports within 48 hours but sometimes it can take up to 7 days.
But doing this one by one will take a lot of time. How do I report all imposters at once?
You can do it by either contacting Facebook support via live chat or sending an email on any of the following email IDs:
But what if the imposter is not using your/your business name and using your trademark or copyright?
Even if a page doesnât copy your/your business name but steals your copyright or trademark e.g. logo, any trademark term, or any kind of IP, you can take it down.
Facebook has a dedicated portal for handling intellectual property reports. You can fill up forms in the Intellectual Property reporting center.
To speed up the process, you can contact Facebookâs designated agent via live chat, postal mail or via phone/email.
Thatâs how you report imposters and get their pages deleted legally.
But how do I delete my own Facebook page?
I was not going to include this part in my article but after reading the top 10 results on Google search, I realized that they are all outdated.
Letâs learn how to delete your Facebook page in 2024.
First of all, make sure you have admin access to the page you want to delete. Then follow these simple steps to delete your page permanently.
Once you complete the deletion process, your Facebook page is scheduled for deletion. It takes Facebook 14 days to process your request and delete the page.
The process is pretty much the same as the Desktop version. Hereâs how to do it.
The process is exactly the same for both Android and iPhone.
But what if I change my mind and want to cancel page deletion?
If you plan to reactivate your Facebook page within 14 days of deletion, you can follow these steps to cancel deletion.
Tada! Your page is back â live and published! âš
But what if I only want to take a short break and temporarily deactivate my Facebook page?
Deactivation is temporary and you can reactivate your Facebook page any time you want. The process is almost the same as deletion.
The reactivation process is exactly the same as we did for deletion. You can reactivate your page from your personal account.
Thatâs it. Now before we wrap up, let me answer some common questions you may have in your mind.
The most common reason is that you don't have admin rights. Only admins can initiate deactivation and deletion of a Facebook page.
You can not delete a page you no longer have access to. Since only admins can delete a page, the only option you have is to report the page.
No, deleting your Facebook Business Manager will not delete your Facebook page. Deleting your Business Manager simply removes your access to that management tool.
Your Facebook pages will still exist unless you specifically delete them through the page itself.
Hereâs the step by step process to remove page admin access:
Yes, once you delete your page, itâs gone forever. Facebook does give you 14 days to rethink and cancel page deletion. After that, your page is permanently deleted.
Thatâs a wrap on how to delete a Facebook page. We learned how to delete any FB page whether itâs owned by you or imposters.
Do check out Facebook Pages Search Export to scrape Facebook page information without manual effort.
Self-proclaimed Head of Content @ lobstr.io. I write all those awesome how-tos, listicles, and (they deserve) troll our competitors.