How to Delete a Facebook Pixel

Ready to get rid of a Facebook Pixel that's no longer serving you? Whether it was set up incorrectly, connected to a long-forgotten project, or you're just cleaning house, removing an old pixel can feel surprisingly complicated. This guide will walk you through exactly how to safely and effectively delete a Facebook Pixel, understand the different ways to remove it, and what happens next.

First, Why Would You Delete a Facebook Pixel?

Before jumping into the steps, it’s helpful to know why you might want to do this. There are plenty of good reasons to decommission a pixel, and chances are you’re nodding along to one of these right now:

• It was created by mistake. It happens. You or a team member might have clicked the "Create a Pixel" button one too many times, leaving you with useless duplicates.
• You're rebranding or launching a new business. A fresh start for your brand often means a fresh start for your analytics and ad data.
• The pixel was installed incorrectly. If the pixel was set up wrong from the beginning, its data is likely skewed and unreliable. Sometimes, it's easier to start over than to troubleshoot a broken setup.
• An agency or freelancer installed it. If a third party set up a pixel under their business account, you’ll want to create your own and remove the old one to take full ownership of your data.
• You've changed your website platform. Migrating from, say, Squarespace to Shopify might be the perfect opportunity to implement a new, clean pixel and retire the old one.

Whatever your reason, the goal is the same: clean up your advertising assets so you can move forward with confidence and clarity.

The Hard Truth About "Deleting" a Facebook Pixel

Here’s the thing Facebook (now Meta) doesn’t always make obvious: the big red “delete” button you’re picturing might not exist. Over the years, Meta has shifted how pixels (now part of "Datasets" in Business Manager) are managed. In many Business Manager accounts, you can't permanently delete a pixel that has any activity associated with it. The option is often grayed out, permanently.

But don't worry. For all practical purposes, you can achieve the same outcome. The modern process involves two key steps:

1. Disconnecting the Pixel from All Assets: You’ll remove its connection to your ad accounts and any other team members who have access. This effectively takes it "offline" so it can no longer be used in campaigns.
2. Removing the Pixel Code From Your Website: This stops the pixel from collecting any new data from your site visitors.

When you do both, the pixel becomes dormant - it can't be used, and it isn't collecting data. It might still appear in your list of datasets, but it’s completely inactive and harmless. This is the official and safest way to “delete” a Facebook Pixel in today's setup.

Your Pre-Flight Checklist: 3 Things to Do Before Removing the Pixel

Hold on! Before you start disconnecting things, take a few minutes to run through this checklist. A little prep work now can save you a massive headache later.

1. Audit Active Campaigns

Is the pixel you're about to remove currently being used by any active ad campaigns? Go into your Ads Manager and check your campaigns. If any are optimizing for conversions, tracking traffic, or using retargeting audiences based on this pixel, removing it will break those campaigns. Pause any campaigns relying on the old pixel before you proceed.

2. Download Important Historical Data (If Applicable)

Once you disconnect a pixel from an ad account, you lose the ability to see its historical conversion data in your Ads Manager reports for that account. If you have valuable performance data from the last year or two that you might want for future reference, consider exporting your ad reports. Navigate to Ads Manager, select the appropriate date range, customize your columns to include pixel-related metrics (like Purchases, Leads, etc.), and export the data as a .csv file.

3. Check for Connected Custom Audiences and Conversions

Your pixel powers your custom audiences (like "all website visitors in the last 30 days") and your custom conversions (like "viewed a specific thank you page"). Removing the pixel will stop these from populating. Make sure you don't have any essential audiences or conversions relying on this pixel for campaigns you plan to migrate to a new pixel later.

How to Disconnect a Facebook Pixel from Your Ad Account (Step-by-Step)

This is the main event. Disconnecting the pixel from the ad account it’s tied to is the most important step in making it inactive. This process happens inside the Meta Business Suite or Business Manager.

Step 1: Go to Business Settings

First, log into Meta Business Suite. In the bottom-left corner, click on the Settings gear icon. From here, click on More Business Settings. This opens the classic Business Manager interface where you have more granular control.

Step 2: Navigate to Your Data Sources

Once you're in Business Manager, look at the menu on the left side of the screen. Find the section called Data Sources and click on it. Then, select Datasets. (Note: Facebook used to call this section "Pixels," so if your interface looks older, you might see that label instead. It's the same thing).

Step 3: Select the Pixel You Want to Remove

You’ll see a list of all the pixels (datasets) associated with your Business Manager. Click on the name of the pixel you want to get rid of.

Step 4: Go to "Connected Assets"

After clicking on the pixel, you'll see a new panel of options open up in the main window. Click on the Connected Assets tab. This will show you exactly which ad accounts are currently using this pixel.

Step 5: Disconnect the Ad Account

You should see your ad account listed here. Beside the ad account name, click the little trash can icon to remove its connection. Facebook will ask you to confirm. Click Remove one more time, and you're done! The pixel is now officially disconnected from your ad account and can no longer be used for creating ads.

If you have multiple ad accounts connected, just repeat this step for each one.

Next, Remove the Pixel Code From Your Website

Your pixel might be disconnected from its ad account, but if the tracking code is still on your website, it's still sending data to Facebook. This final step ensures it completely stops tracking user activity. How you do this depends on how you installed it in the first place.

If You Manually Added Code to Your Site

If you or a developer pasted the pixel code directly into your website's header, you’ll need to remove it from the same place. The code snippet looks something like this:

<,!-- Facebook Pixel Code -->,
<,script>,
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return,n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)},
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n,n.push=n,n.loaded=!0,n.version='2.0',
n.queue=[],t=b.createElement(e),t.async=!0,
t.src=v,s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0],
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',
'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'),
fbq('init', 'YOUR-PIXEL-ID-HERE'),
fbq('track', 'PageView'),
<,/script>,
<,noscript>,<,img height="1" width="1" style="display:none"
src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=YOUR-PIXEL-ID-HERE&ev=PageView&noscript=1"
/>,<,/noscript>,
<,!-- End Facebook Pixel Code -->,

Check the <,head>, section of your website's theme or template files and delete this entire block of code. Don't forget to save your changes and clear any website cache you might be using.

If You're Using Google Tag Manager

Using GTM makes this whole process much easier.

1. Go to your Google Tag Manager container.
2. Navigate to the Tags section in the left sidebar.
3. Find the tag responsible for firing your Facebook Pixel.
4. You can either Pause the tag or click the three dots and Delete it entirely.
5. Remember to click the Submit button in the top right corner to publish your changes.

If You're Using a WordPress Plugin

If you're on WordPress, you’re likely using a plugin like "PixelYourSite," "Pixel Cat," or the official Meta plugin. Simply go to the plugin’s settings, delete your pixel ID from the relevant field, and save the changes. Better yet, if you’re no longer using the plugin at all, you can just deactivate and delete it from your plugins list.

If You're Using a Shopify Integration

For Shopify users, the Facebook & Instagram app manages your pixel.

1. From your Shopify Admin, go to Sales Channels > Facebook & Instagram.
2. Click on Settings > Data sharing settings.
3. In the customer data-sharing section, you should see your connected pixel. There will be an option to Disconnect the pixel.

Once you disconnect and save your changes, Shopify will stop sending data to that specific pixel ID.

Final Thoughts

So, there you have it. While you often can't hit a single "delete" button to wipe a Facebook Pixel from existence, disconnecting it from your ad account and removing the code from your site achieves the same result. The pixel becomes a harmless, inactive artifact in your Business Manager, unable to collect data or influence your ad campaigns.

After sorting out the technical back-end of your ad strategy, we've found that the best thing to do is focus back on what truly builds your brand: great organic content. Taking back control of your asset management is important, and so is simplifying your daily social media workflow. That's why we built Postbase - to create a clean, modern, and reliable social media management tool that handles planning, scheduling, engagement, and analytics without the chaos. It’s built for the content formats that work today, like Reels and TikToks, so you can spend less time fighting with clunky software and more time connecting with your audience.