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Managing a Facebook Group You Admin: Members, Admins, Admin Assist, Pause or Delete

Most Facebook group admin problems come down to a few rules. Only admins can add or remove admins, and nobody can remove the group’s creator except the creator. Admin Assist can approve or decline things for you, and you can undo its decisions. A group can only be deleted once it has no members; otherwise, pause it.

Reviewed 9 min read 4 fixes Disabled & restricted accounts

Quick answer

Member requests: Manage (or the left menu on a computer) > Member Requests > Approve or Decline. Add an admin: People > the person > Invite as admin. Can’t remove an admin? They may be the creator. Admin Assist did something wrong? Admin Assist > Activity log > Undo. Delete the group: remove (or ban) every member, then leave and choose Delete group.

What do you need to do?

Does this match what you see?

  • Membership requests are piling up.
  • You can’t remove another admin from the group.
  • Posts or members were declined automatically.
  • Your group was paused.
  • You want to delete a group but can’t find the option.

iPhone & iPadAndroidComputer (browser)

Based on 11 Meta Help Center articles supplied by the site owner. Menu names vary slightly between the computer, iPhone, iPad and Android.

Why this happens: the possible causes

Common admin roadblocks.

Problem and reason
ProblemReason
Can’t remove an adminThey’re the group creator; only they can step down
Can’t make someone an adminThey must be active in the group; some gray accounts can’t be admins
No Delete optionThe group still has members, or you’re not the creator (while they’re still in it)
Group suddenly pausedThe only admin left and no one accepted the admin invite within 7 days, or all members left
  • Creator protectionCheck this first

    Meta says group creators can’t be removed by another admin.

Try these 60-second checks first

  • Check whether the person you’re trying to remove is the group creator.

How to fix it, step by step

Work through these in order. They start with the quickest, safest checks and only move to steps that sign you out or remove data later.

Fix 1: Approve members, set questions and choose who approves

Safe & reversible5 minComputer (browser)iPhone & iPadAndroid

Meta says private groups need membership approval (unless limited membership is on); public groups don’t.

iPhone & iPad

  1. Open your group (Menu > Groups > Your groups).
  2. Tap Manage > Member Requests: approve or decline each, or all. To explain a decline, tap Manage next to the request > Decline with feedback.
  3. Manage > Group Settings > Membership Questions, or Who Can Approve Member Requests.

Android

  1. Open your group (Menu > Groups > Your groups).
  2. Tap Manage > Member Requests: approve or decline each, or all. To explain a decline, tap Options next to the request > Decline with feedback.
  3. Manage > Group Settings > Membership Questions, or Who Can Approve Member Requests.

Computer (browser)

  1. Go to facebook.com/groups and open your group.
  2. Member Requests (left menu): Approve or Decline each, or Approve All / Decline All. To explain a decline, click Options > Decline with feedback.
  3. Membership Questions (left menu): Add Question, and turn on asking members to agree to the Group Rules.
  4. Group Settings > Who Can Approve Member Requests: Only admins and moderators, or Anyone in the group (members approve their own friends).

Meta says feedback shows as coming from “an admin”, not your name. With limited membership on, people can join a private group and see and react to content, but can’t post, comment or chat until approved; your questions then become participation questions.

Did it work? Your request queue is cleared and settings show your choices.

Fix 2: Add an admin or moderator

Read first: can remove data2 minComputer (browser)iPhone & iPadAndroid

Meta says only admins can invite admins or moderators, and new admins can remove members or admins and change settings.

iPhone & iPad

  1. Open your group > Manage > People.
  2. Tap the person > Add (name) as admin or as moderator > Confirm.

Android

  1. Open your group > Manage > People.
  2. Tap Options next to the person > Invite as admin or Invite as moderator, then SEND INVITE or MAKE MODERATOR.

Computer (browser)

  1. Open your group and click Members or People (under More if needed).
  2. Click Options next to the person > Invite as admin or Invite as moderator > Send Invite.

Meta says the person must be active in the group, and some gray accounts can’t become admins. Choose carefully: an admin can remove you too, unless you’re the creator.

Did it work? They appear as an admin or moderator once they accept.

Fix 3: Remove an admin or moderator

Read first: can remove data2 minComputer (browser)iPhone & iPadAndroid

Meta says only admins can remove admins or moderators, and the creator can’t be removed by anyone else.

iPhone & iPad

  1. Open your group > Manage group > People.
  2. Tap the person > Remove [Name] as admin or as moderator.

Android

  1. Open your group > Manage group > People.
  2. Tap the person > Remove as admin or Remove as moderator.

Computer (browser)

  1. Open your group > Members or People.
  2. Click Options next to the person > Remove as admin or Remove as moderator > Confirm.

Can’t remove them? Meta says they’re probably the group creator. Only the creator can step down: by removing themselves as admin, leaving the group, or recovering their account first if they’ve lost access. To step down yourself, follow the same steps and choose your own name.

Did it work? They no longer show as an admin or moderator.

Fix 4: Set up Admin Assist, or undo what it did

Safe & reversible10 minComputer (browser)iPhone & iPadAndroid

Admin Assist automatically handles posts, comments and members using rules you set.

  1. Open Admin Assist: on a computer it’s in the group’s left menu; in the app, Manage group > Admin Assist (or See all tools).
  2. Add a rule: tap Add next to an action (for example approving members who answered your questions, declining likely spam, or declining posts linking to a site), then pick a preset or your own criteria.
  3. Edit or delete a rule: Edit next to it.
  4. Undo a decision: Activity log (top right) > Undo next to the action, then confirm.

Meta says Admin Assist declines a post if any rule matches, but approves a member only if all rules match. If a request matches both approve and decline rules, it’s approved. Can’t find Admin Assist? Meta says it may not be available in your group, or post approval or participant approval may be off.

Did it work? The Activity log shows Admin Assist acting the way you expect.

Meta says admins of private hidden groups can allow invitations by link, and choose who can share one: only admins, admins and moderators, or anyone in the group. Set it in Group Settings > Invite with link. To kill an active link: Invite (or + Invite) > Invite with link > Turn off link > Turn Off.

Welcome new members

  • New member intro: a message new members see on their first visit, optionally with your rules and a prompt to post. Turn it on in Group Settings > New member intro (in the app, Admin tools > Group settings).
  • Welcome post: a post that tags new members, visible to everyone. Meta says the prompt only appears if people joined in the past 7 days. On a computer: Members or People > Write welcome post. Meta says posts made on Android tag the 100 newest members, and on a computer the 300 newest.
  • Automatic welcome posts: Admin Assist > Add next to Publish a welcome post. Meta says it shows in Scheduled posts 24 hours before publishing, and only the admin who set it up can edit it.

Create a group

  1. On a computer, click Groups in the left menu of your Feed (under See more if needed), then Create new group.
  2. Enter a name and choose the privacy: public or private. For a private group, choose visible or hidden.
  3. Invite people, then click Create.

iPhone and Android: Menu > Groups > Create (top) > Create group (iPhone: Create a Group), enter a name, choose the privacy (for private, visible or hidden, then a group size), and tap Create group.

Facebook Lite: Menu (top right) > Groups > Create (top right), enter a name, choose the privacy, tap Create, then add people.

Meta suggests adding a cover photo and description afterward, and recommends that admins share any commercial or business affiliations in the group (in the description or an announcement), updating them if they change.

Run a group as your Facebook Page

If you have Facebook access to a Page, Meta says you can create a group with the Page as admin: click your profile photo > See all profiles > choose the Page, then Groups (left menu) > Create New Group, fill in the details and click Create. In the app (iPhone or Android): Menu > Options > choose the Page, then Menu > Groups > the + at the top > Create a Group > Create Group. You can also add your Page as an admin of a group you already run.

  • Meta says a Page can be admin of up to 200 groups, and they’re listed on the Page.
  • Pages with age restrictions can’t be connected to a group.

Group experts

Where available, admins can invite members as group experts, who get a badge. Go to Members > the person > Invite as group expert (on iPhone and iPad, Add [name] as group expert). Meta says members aren’t told if you remove them as experts, and you can’t make someone an expert if they’ve had more than three Community Standards violations on Facebook, or more than two misinformation violations in your group, in the past 90 days.

Pause or delete a group

Pausing vs deleting (from Meta’s comparison)
PausedDeleted
Shows in searchYesNo
Can be undoneYesNo
Who can do itAny adminOnly the creator (or any admin if the creator has left)
New membersNo (admins can approve earlier requests)No
Posting and commentingNo (admins can manage earlier posts)No
Admins remove content or ban peopleYesNo
Members can access their informationYesNo

Pause a group

  1. Open the group: on a computer click Options below the cover photo; in the app (iPhone, iPad, Android) tap Admin tools.
  2. Select Pause group, choose a reason, then Continue twice.
  3. Optionally write an announcement and schedule when the group resumes automatically, then click Pause Group.

Meta says a notice appears at the top of the group, and new posts, comments and reactions stop for everyone, including admins. Members can still delete their own posts, access their information and leave, and Facebook can still enforce its Community Standards. To change the resume time, click Edit below the cover photo (app: Manage > Edit resume date and time > Save). To restart now, click Resume > Confirm (app: Manage > Resume activity in group).

Delete a group

Meta says you can only delete a group once it has no members, and only if you’re the creator or the creator has left.

  1. Open the group > Members (private groups) or People (public groups). In the app, Admin tools > People.
  2. For each person, choose Remove member (private) or Ban from group (public), then Next > Confirm.
  3. When you’re the last member: on a computer, Options next to your name > Leave group > Delete group. In the app, Admin tools > Delete Group.

Meta says members aren’t notified when you delete a group, and archiving groups is no longer available.

Why is my group paused?

  • The only admin left (or deactivated or deleted their account): Meta says they’re asked to invite new admins, and the group is paused automatically if no one is chosen or no one accepts within 7 days.
  • Everyone left: Meta says a group with no members is paused automatically.

While paused, admins can still remove content and ban people, but nobody can post and new members can’t join.

How to know it worked

  • Your group’s members, admins and automations are set up the way you want.

Still not working? Your next steps

  1. Members can’t post? See can’t post in a Facebook group. Can’t find a group? See Facebook groups not showing.

Official help routes

SocialAppFix can’t see or change your account. For account decisions, recovery and appeals, only the platform’s own tools can help. These links go to the official sites.

Frequently asked questions

Why can’t I remove an admin from my Facebook group?

Meta says the group creator can’t be removed by another admin. Only they can remove themselves or leave.

How do I delete a Facebook group with members?

Meta says remove (private) or ban (public) all members first, then leave and choose Delete group. You must be the creator, or the creator must have left.

Why was my Facebook group paused?

Meta says groups pause automatically if the only admin leaves and no one accepts the admin invite within 7 days, or if no members remain.

How do I undo an Admin Assist decision?

Admin Assist > Activity log > Undo next to the action.

Can I archive a Facebook group?

No. Meta says archiving a group is no longer available; you can pause or delete it.

Sources and how we checked this guide

We base steps on the platforms’ own help pages and the phone makers’ official guides. Menu names change often and can differ by device, app version and region. Where a platform page could not be independently read, we link it so you can check the current wording yourself.

  1. Manage membership for your Facebook group (external site, opens in a new tab)Facebook Help Center · checked 6 November 2026
  2. Add an admin or moderator to your Facebook group (external site, opens in a new tab)Facebook Help Center · checked 6 November 2026
  3. Remove an admin or moderator from your Facebook group (external site, opens in a new tab)Facebook Help Center · checked 6 November 2026
  4. Set up Admin Assist to automatically manage your Facebook group (external site, opens in a new tab)Facebook Help Center · checked 6 November 2026
  5. Welcome new members to a Facebook group you manage (external site, opens in a new tab)Facebook Help Center · checked 6 November 2026
  6. Add or remove a group expert in a Facebook group you admin (external site, opens in a new tab)Facebook Help Center · checked 6 November 2026
  7. Difference between pausing and deleting a Facebook group you admin (external site, opens in a new tab)Facebook Help Center · checked 6 November 2026
  8. Delete a Facebook group you admin (external site, opens in a new tab)Facebook Help Center · checked 6 November 2026
  9. Pause a Facebook group you admin (external site, opens in a new tab)Facebook Help Center · checked 6 November 2026
  10. Create a Facebook group as your Facebook Page (external site, opens in a new tab)Facebook Help Center · checked 6 November 2026
  11. Create a Facebook group (external site, opens in a new tab)Facebook Help Center · checked 6 November 2026

Last reviewed 6 November 2026 by the SocialAppFix editorial team against the sources above. Next scheduled review: 6 May 2027. How we write and review guides.

What changed
  • 6 November 2026: First published.

SocialAppFix is an independent guide and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta or Facebook. We never ask for passwords, login codes or payment to fix an account.