How to Remove an Instagram Account from Facebook Business Manager

Disconnected the wrong Instagram account or taking over a client's page? Removing an Instagram profile from Facebook's Meta Business Suite is thankfully simple, but knowing the why and what to watch out for can save you from a major headache. This guide will walk you through the exact steps to disconnect an account safely and explain what happens to your ads and assets once you do.

Why Disconnect an Instagram Account in the First Place?

While connecting your Instagram to Meta Business Suite is the standard for running ads and managing business assets, there are plenty of legitimate reasons for hitting the eject button. You aren't doing anything strange, it's a common admin task social media managers perform all the time. The most frequent scenarios include:

• Agency Offboarding: An agency or freelancer's contract has ended, and they need to hand control of the Instagram account back to the client. Removing it from their Business Suite is a critical final step.
• Selling Your Business: If you've sold your e-commerce brand or blog, the new owner will need to connect the Instagram account to their own Business Suite. You have to remove it from yours first.
• Internal Restructuring: Sometimes companies reorganize their social assets under different business portfolios or ad accounts. This may require an account to be moved from one Business Suite to another.
• Accidental Connection: It happens more than you’d think. Someone on your team might have accidentally linked their personal Instagram or a completely unrelated business profile to the company's Business Suite.
• Troubleshooting Connection Errors: When you’re facing persistent bugs with Instagram Shopping, ad account permissions, or API connection issues with third-party tools, sometimes the best fix is a hard reset. Removing and then re-adding the account can often resolve stubborn, invisible technical glitches.

Before You Start: Critical Information to Save Yourself a Headache

Clicking "Remove" is easy, but the consequences can be significant if you aren't prepared. Before you navigate to your business settings, take a moment to understand what this action actually does.

Check Your Access Level: You Must Be an Admin

If you're just a "Team Member" or have a basic role in the Business Suite, you won't have the permission to remove major assets like an Instagram account. The "Remove" button will be grayed out or a similar option won't appear at all. You need to have Admin access to the Meta Business Suite.

To check your role:

1. Go to Business Settings.
2. In the menu, click "People."
3. Find your name on the list. Your role will be listed right beside it. If it says "Employee," you'll need to ask someone who is an "Admin" to either make the change for you or upgrade your permissions.

What Happens to Your Ads?

This is the most important part. Once you remove the Instagram account from your Business Suite, you lose the ability to manage or create ads for it through that Suite's ad accounts.

• Existing Ads Will Stop Running: Any active ad campaigns that are pointing to that Instagram account for placement (e.g., in the Instagram feed or Stories) or as the brand identity will be paused or stop delivering.
• Audience Data: You might lose direct access to some Instagram-specific audiences that you've built within that business account, like audiences of people who have engaged with that Instagram profile. Historical ad performance data will still be available in your Ads Manager, but you won't be able to run new ads based on those specific connections.
• Future Campaigns: You obviously will not be able to create new campaigns targeting that Instagram profile from this Business Suite until it (or a different one) is reconnected.

What About Connected Assets like Facebook Shopping?

If you have Instagram Shopping set up and it's linked to a catalog within that same Business Suite, disconnecting the account can break the connection. The product tags on your Instagram posts might disappear because they can no longer link back to their source catalog. Before removing the Instagram profile, it’s wise to assess which assets are connected to it by clicking on the account in Business Settings and viewing its "Connected Assets" tab.

Step-by-Step: How to Remove an Instagram Account from Meta Business Suite

Ready to go? The process itself only takes a few clicks. Follow these steps precisely to get it done.

Step 1: Go Straight to Your Business Settings

Facebook's public-facing interfaces change all the time, but the backend architecture is more stable. Avoid navigating through the labyrinthine menus of Business Suite or Facebook pages. The most direct path is to go straight to the source.

Open your browser and go to: business.facebook.com/settings

Make sure you select the correct Business Account from the dropdown menu in the top left if you manage more than one.

Step 2: Navigate to Instagram Accounts

On the left-hand menu, look for the "Accounts" section. It should be near the top. Click on it, and then select "Instagram accounts" from the options that appear.

Step 3: Select the Instagram Account to Remove

You’ll see a list of all the Instagram accounts currently connected to your Business Suite. Click on the specific account you wish to disconnect. It will become highlighted to indicate it's been selected.

Step 4: Click the "Remove" Button

With the account selected, look to the main panel on the right side of your screen. You should see the account’s details and, at the top, a blue "Add" button and a grey "Remove" button. Click "Remove."

Step 5: Confirm the Final Decision

A pop-up window will appear asking, "Are you sure you want to remove [Instagram Handle]?" It will also have a warning explaining that by removing it, you will lose the ability to manage the account and that it will be removed from all ad accounts and assets under your business. This is your final chance to make sure you're disconnecting the correct profile.

If you're confident, click the blue "Remove" button to finalize the action. The Instagram account should immediately disappear from your list.

Didn't Work? Troubleshooting Common Issues

Sometimes things don't go as planned. If you ran into an issue following the steps above, one of these common problems is likely the culprit.

Problem: The "Remove" Button is Grayed Out

This is almost always a permissions issue. As mentioned earlier, hitting a grayed-out "Remove" button means you do not have Admin privileges for the Business Suite. You are likely an "Employee," "Editor," or another role with limited permissions. You’ll need to contact a user with "Admin" access and ask them to perform the removal.

Problem: An Error Message Says the Account is Tied to Other Assets

In some cases, Meta Business Suite will prevent the removal if the account is deeply integrated with other business tools that depend on it. For example, if the Instagram account is set as the "Primary Messenger Account" for your Facebook Page's appointment booking software, you might need to change that setting first. Check the "Connected Assets" tab for the Instagram account to see what else it's connected to - like a catalog or an app - and work on untangling those connections first before repeating the removal process.

Problem: I Removed it, but it Still Feels Connected to My Facebook Page

Removing an Instagram account from Meta Business Suite revokes the business's administrative access. However, it does not always automatically sever the simpler social sharing link between the Instagram profile and its corresponding Facebook Page. For a complete disconnection, it's a good idea to perform this final check from the Instagram app itself.

1. Open the Instagram app on your phone.
2. Go to your profile, then tap the menu icon (three lines) and go to Settings and privacy.
3. Tap on Accounts Center.
4. Tap on Accounts.
5. You'll see a list of accounts linked with your Accounts Center. If the old Facebook Page is still there, you can tap "Remove" beside it to completely sever the connection.

Final Thoughts

Disconnecting an Instagram account from your Meta Business Suite is a straightforward admin task that gives you clean control over your digital assets. Following the steps in your Business Settings is the right way to do it, just be sure to consider the impact on active ad campaigns and team roles before finalizing the removal.

Managing asset permissions is just one piece of the puzzle. Once you have every account organized correctly, you need a social media management tool that honors those connections without fuss. Over the years, we grew tired of tools that constantly required us to re-authenticate our accounts, so we built ours for stability. With Postbase, your accounts stay reliably connected, meaning you spend less time troubleshooting and more time focusing on what really matters: planning, scheduling, and engaging across all your platforms in one clean, uncluttered space.