How to delete a Facebook group with thousands of members

Facebook groups are great for creating small communities of similar-minded individuals, or getting together for a common cause. It’s not always wise to keep them forever, though. Regardless of your reasoning behind it, sometimes it’s better to delete a Facebook group. Let’s teach you how it’s done!

Related: Are you having Facebook issues? Try these fixes

Pausing vs. deleting a Facebook group

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Deleting a Facebook group altogether may be a bit of an extreme solution. Another alternative is not as finite; you can pause a Facebook group. What’s the difference between pausing and deleting a Facebook group?

Deleting a Facebook group is a permanent solution. Everything will be permanently trashed, and only the group creator can do this.

On the other hand, pausing a Facebook group is a much more temporary option to stop activity on a specific group. After being paused, the group will still appear in searches, but it won’t be fully functional. When you pause a group, multiple actions will be halted. This includes the ability to add new posts, comments, and reactions. Additionally, no new members can join, but Admins can still approve old join requests.

Admins can still do quite a bit after a Facebook group is paused. They’ll be able to manage older posts and content. They can also change the cover photo, manage members, and access their own information.

Also: How to permanently delete a Facebook account

How to pause a group

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Let’s show you how to pause a Facebook group, which is a less extreme solution to most problems you may face while managing a community.

Pause Facebook group using a PC browser:

1. Go to Facebook.
2. If you haven’t, log into your account.
3. Look at the left menu and click on Groups.
4. Find the section Groups You Manage and select the group you want to archive.
5. Click the three-dot button above the About section.
6. Select Pause group.
7. Select the reason and hit Continue.
8. Confirm by clicking on Continue again.

Pause Facebook group using the smartphone app:

1. Open the Facebook app.
2. Go into the Menu tab.
3. Tap on the Groups button.
4. Select Your Groups.
5. Go into the group you want to pause.
6. Tap on the Shield button to pull up options.
7. Scroll down and select Pause group.
8. Select the reason for pausing the group and hit Continue.
9. Confirm by tapping on Pause Group.

How to delete a Facebook group

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

If you’re sure you want to delete a Facebook group, then here are the instructions to do so.

Delete Facebook group using a PC browser:

1. Go to Facebook.
2. If you haven’t, log into your account.
3. Look at the left menu and click on Groups.
4. Find the section Groups You Manage and select the group you want to delete.
5. Go into the Members section, right below the group’s name.
6. Click on the three-dot button next to a member and select Remove member.
7. Repeat the process for every member in the group.
8. After kicking everyone out of the group, click the three-dot button next to your name and select Leave Group.
9. Confirm by selecting Leave Group.

Delete Facebook group using the smartphone app:

1. Open the Facebook app.
2. Go into the Menu tab.
3. Tap on the Groups tab.
4. Select Your Groups.
5. Go into the group you want to delete.
6. Tap on the page’s title to pull up options.
7. Go to Members and hit See all.
8. Click on the three-dot button next to a member and select Remove member.
9. Repeat the process for every member in the group.
10. Go back to the group page and tap on the Shield icon.
11. Scroll to the bottom and hit Delete Group.
12. Confirm by tapping on Delete Group.

FAQs

No. Facebook is very clear about this. Once a group is deleted, the action is irreversible. You can’t retrieve it. You would have to create the group again.

Facebook claims group members aren’t notified when a Facebook Group is deleted.

While most activity is halted when a Facebook Group is paused, there are some actions members can still take. They can delete posts or comments, access their own information, or leave the group.

There are a few reasons why your Facebook group isn’t showing up on search results. The most common one is that you may have set your group as a hidden one. It may have also been removed for violating community standards. Additionally, the group won’t show up if you were blocked from it.

How do I delete a large Facebook group?

How do I delete a Facebook group with multiple members?