Is Facebook removing inactive members from groups? Fact Check
Messages are circulating Facebook that claim the social network is removing inactive members from Facebook groups. Many versions of the message claim group members must post in the group to remain active.
While the messages are in response to a genuine update by Facebook, most are inaccurate or misleading. Facebook is not removing inactive members of Facebook groups, but it is changing how Facebook users are invited to groups, which may result in group admins noticing a drop in their group’s member count.
Examples of these messages spreading on Facebook are included below –
Everyone – Facebook is clearing inactive members out of groups! If you are part of a group, go to the group and Post anything so you don’t get deleted! They have removed over 20 people from my group today.
Anyone who joins a group or adds members to a group and are inactive within the group are being deleted by Facebook.
However these above message are inaccurate. As we stated, Facebook is changing the way people are invited to groups. Previously, Facebook users could automatically invite their friends to be a member of a group, and that member would automatically be added to the group without having to accept the invitation.
However that is changing, and going forward, Facebook members will be given a chance to accept or decline a group invitation before becoming a member of that group.
This Facebook update will also affect existing group members who have previously been invited to join a group by a friend (and thus automatically became a member) but have never visited the group.
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These ‘invited-but-never-showed-up’ members will be removed from the group, and placed in an Invited member list that is available only to group admins. They will only become members once they accept the group invitation, and admins can send these members a reminder invite for a limited time. Because these users are removed as active members from a group, group admins will likely notice a drop in their total member count during this update.
However, despite messages like the above one spreading on Facebook, this doesn’t affect inactive group members; instead it applies only to members that have previously been invited to a group but have never actually visited that group whatsoever. (By visited, we mean have navigated to the group page at some point.)
Group members who are inactive – i.e. members who have not posted for a long time, or at all – will not be removed from these groups, providing they have visited the group at some point in time or joined the group themselves.
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The claim made by many of these messages that inactive members must make a post is also false. Those members who have been invited but never showed up to a group only need to accept the invitation to stay in the group.
Group admins should note that though they may notice a drop in member count in their groups, only members who have never actually visited their group before will be removed, and as such interaction, engagement and visibility statistics should not be affected.
Facebook have emailed many group administrators details about the update, which reads as follows –
We’re making some updates to how members are invited to your group, and we wanted to share these changes with you. To help ensure people join Facebook Groups that are relevant and meaningful to them, you’ll see the following changes:
Updated Group Invitation — Now, when people are invited to a group, they can accept or decline the invite. Before, people could be added to groups by friends who thought they might be interested in them, and they’d immediately become a member. Some people may have been added to your group, but have never visited it.
Invited Section — In the next few weeks, people who’ve been added to your group — but have never visited it — will appear in the Invited section of your Members list, which only admins and moderators can view. They won’t be considered a member until they accept their invite. This means they will no longer be included in your group’s total member count, so you may see a decrease in your group’s total member count.
Reminder Notification — Because you’re an admin, in the next few weeks you’ll be able to send one notification to invited people to remind them to accept or decline the invite to your group.
As such, the claim that Facebook is removing inactive members and members must post to remain active in a group is false. This update only affects members who have been invited to join a group but have never actually showed up.