Facebook's inactive account cull means fewer likes for pages

Like just about any online service, Facebook has a huge number of dead and dormant accounts. It could be that the owner has died, they might have lost interest, or they may be spam accounts that are no longer used. Facebook is now having a spring clean, sweeping aside inactive accounts, and this could have an interesting side effect for page owners.

Accounts that have been purposely deactivated, or memorialized after a death, are currently still factored into the 'like' count for pages. This is set to change, so many page owners should brace themselves for a sudden drop in likes over the coming weeks.

It means that the likes a page is shown as having received should become a better reflection of the number of Facebook users who are actually interested in the service, product or person associated with a particular page. Of course the cull does nothing to address the problem of spam accounts artificially inflating the numbers, but it is a step in the right direction for those keen on greater accuracy.

Explaining the reasons for the change in policy, Facebook said:

Businesses use Page audience data to understand what their followers care about. To make audience data even more meaningful for businesses, we're updating the way Page likes are counted by removing memorialized and voluntarily deactivated accounts from Pages' like counts. This change ensures that data on Facebook is consistent and up-to-date.

The benefits? Facebook suggests two:

• Business results: Removing inactive Facebook accounts from Page audience data gives businesses up-to-date insights on the people who actively follow their Page and makes it easier for businesses to find people like their followers through tools like lookalike audiences.
• Consistency: We already filter out likes and comments generated by deactivated or memorialized accounts from individual Page posts, so this update keeps data consistent.