On one of my earlier blog post, Facebook page ownership can now be changed,  someone brought up a good point about Facebook Pages and admins. I started to answer in the thread, but it’s a pretty important question, so I decided just to do a new post about.

Here’s the comment this person had:

The real issue is that the page is still tied to the person’s Facebook account regardless of whether they administer the page or not. Thus, if they delete their Facebook page [profile] for any reason, the page will forever be gone.

I know the short-term answer, but I want to know the long-term answer. So, here’s what I did – step by step:

  • Set up a new profile – aka Jane.
  • Jane logged into her personal profile and set up a Facebook fan page.
  • Jane appointed me as an admin of the page.
  • I logged out of Jane’s profile and logged into my own to be sure I was set as an admin of the new page. I am.
  • I removed Jane as an admin.
  • I logged out of my profile, and logged back in as Jane.
  • I deleted Jane’s account.
  • I logged in again as myself, and the page is still there. I am now the only admin for the page Jane created.

Once a person gives up their admin rights (or has them revoked by another admin), it appears that they have no rights to that page.

However . . .

I need to follow up with this in 15 days and here’s why:

Facebook allows profiles to be deactivated or deleted – and they are two different functions.

Deactivation – This allows you to make your account inactive, which means your stuff is locked away and made secret but you can get it later if you want to. Facebook keeps all of your information in case you decide to reactivate it at a later date.

Deletion – This permanently deletes your account after 14 days. During that initial 14 day period you’re allowed to reactivate your account if you want to (just by logging in), but after that it will be permanently deleted.

So at this point, Jane’s account has been set for deletion and the page she created is now in my possession. What I want to know for sure is if that page will still be mine once her account has been permanently deleted. Or will it be deleted along with her account since she was the original owner? I’m fairly certain it will still be my page since she was removed as an admin, but I’ll check back in another 15 days to find out for sure.

UPDATE: It’s been more than 15 days since I deleted the Jane account and I’m still the admin for the page she turned over to me. So, it looks like if an admin turns over a page, then is deleted, that page will still exist and it will belong to whoever is the current admin

Join the newsletter

Subscribe to get my latest content by email.

We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by Kit