Facebook Page, Google Business Profile, LINE Official Account: How to Transfer Ownership and Admin Rights (Shop Owner's Edition)

Table of Contents

1. Why these three
2. Facebook Page
3. How to see the current state
4. Adding a second administrator
5. Transferring primary ownership
6. Common dead ends
7. Google Business Profile
8. How to see the current state
9. Adding a second owner
10. Transferring primary ownership
11. Common dead ends
12. LINE Official Account
13. How to see the current state
14. Adding a second administrator
15. Transferring primary ownership
16. Common dead ends
17. Four rules that apply to all three

#Why these three

Of the six categories in the digital asset inventory, accounts are the category that fails most often, and the three accounts a shop relies on most are the Facebook Page, the Google Business Profile and the LINE Official Account. They share one structure: the account is not yours as such; it hangs off somebody's personal login. Agency, former manager, your son, it makes no difference.

For each platform this article covers four things: how to see who owns it now, how to add a second administrator, how to hand primary ownership to someone else, and how to handle the common dead ends. I checked each step against the platform's official help pages. Interfaces get redesigned, so treat button names as subject to the platform's current interface; the principles do not change.

The conclusion first: on all three platforms the most important action is the same one, add a second person with the highest level of access. Transferring ownership can take a week. The second administrator gets added today.

#Facebook Page

#How to see the current state

The new Pages experience has two kinds of access: Facebook access and task access. Facebook access is further split into full control and partial control. According to Meta's help page, people with full control can manage all settings and delete the Page, and giving someone full control gives them the same permissions you have, including the ability to remove you. Only people with full control can give or remove other people's access. People with task access work through tools such as Meta Business Suite on posts, messages and ads, and cannot switch into the Page.

To see who has what, Meta's help page is explicit: you must switch into your Page before you can manage Page access. Once switched, go to Settings and then Page access, where you will see two lists: people with Facebook access and people with task access. What you are looking for: who has full control, and whether any of those accounts is one the shop itself controls.

If the list shows only the agency's account, or a single employee, this article is written for you.

#Adding a second administrator

On the same Page access screen, add a person, choose Facebook access, and switch on full control; it takes effect once they accept the invitation. Meta's help page has a section titled "Give someone Facebook access". Where exactly the button sits and whether you are asked to re-enter your password depends on the platform's current interface.

Who to add: the owner's own account, plus one family member or a core manager. Two or more people, all on the shop's side.

#Transferring primary ownership

The new Pages experience has no "primary owner" role; everyone with full control has the same permissions. So on Facebook, "transfer" means: first add the shop's account with full control, confirm that person can log in and see the Page, and only then remove the agency's or the former employee's account. Do not reverse the order. Remove first and add second, and for that moment the Page has nobody.

There is one more layer. If the agency placed your Page inside its business portfolio (formerly Business Manager), the Page is also governed by that portfolio. Ask them to remove the Page from their portfolio, or create your company's own business portfolio and bring the Page into it. The exact operation follows Meta Business Suite's current interface; the principle is that the Page ends up under the company's own portfolio, not somebody else's.

#Common dead ends

The only administrator has vanished or been disabled. This is the worst case. If no account with full control can still log in, Meta offers no reliable self-service recovery. The only path is a support form with evidence of the business's relationship to the Page, and the result is not guaranteed. This is why the second administrator gets added today.

A personal account tied to the shop. All full-control access sits on personal Facebook accounts. If a personal account is disabled by Meta, hacked, or its password forgotten, the Page goes with it. The fix is not a "company account" (Facebook has no such thing) but at least two personal accounts with full control, plus the company's own business portfolio holding the Page.

#Google Business Profile

Google's steps are taken directly from its official help pages, which are the most complete of the three platforms.

#How to see the current state

A Business Profile has three roles: primary owner (only one per profile), owner (several allowed; full control, can add or remove users and delete the profile), and manager (almost the same as an owner, except they cannot add or remove users or remove the profile).

To view them, sign in with the Google account that manages the profile and select More, then Business Profile settings, then People and access. The list shows everyone's role. Check whose account is the primary owner, and whether any owner is a company mailbox.

#Adding a second owner

On the People and access screen, select Add, enter the person's email address, choose Owner or Manager under Access, and select Invite. Add an owner, not a manager, because a manager cannot add or remove people and will be no help when something goes wrong. Adding a company mailbox (a Google Workspace account, for example) as an owner is the most stable arrangement.

#Transferring primary ownership

Precondition, quoted from Google: a profile must have at least one other owner or manager to transfer primary owner access to. So do the previous step first.

The path is again More, Business Profile settings, People and access. Select the user you want to transfer to, select Edit next to Access, choose Primary owner, and save. Only owners can change access roles for other owners and managers.

One timing rule to remember: a newly added owner or manager must wait 7 days before they can delete the profile, remove other owners or managers, or receive primary ownership. Google's help page says that if an existing owner tries to make someone else the primary owner in their first 7 days, they will get an error. So from adding the person to completing the transfer, allow at least a week.

#Common dead ends

The original owner has vanished. This is the case Google handles best. Go to business.google.com/add, enter the business name and address, select your business from the list, and when told someone else may manage this profile, select Request access and submit the form. The current owner is notified by email and has 3 days to respond. If there is no response after 3 days, open the confirmation email, select View request and then Verify, and follow the on-screen steps to verify the business and claim the profile. Google also states that the option to claim a profile isn't always available, so this route has a chance, not a guarantee. If the request is denied, you can appeal or suggest edits.

The account is disabled. A suspended Business Profile is a separate problem with its own appeal process, unrelated to ownership. What is meant here is that the owner's Google account cannot be accessed; the answer is the same as above, use another account and go through Request access.

A personal account tied to the shop. The profile was claimed with the manager's personal Gmail. The fix is the two steps above: add the company mailbox as an owner, and transfer primary ownership after 7 days.

#LINE Official Account

#How to see the current state

The LINE Official Account Manager has four permission levels, according to LINE's official training material: Administrator (all permissions, including adding or removing members and changing the payment method), Operator (all operations except adding people), Operator without messaging rights, and Operator without analytics access.

To view them, open Settings and then Permissions in the management console. The list shows each member and their level. LINE's own advice is that because administrators can freely add and remove other accounts, only a few core staff should hold that level, and that when someone leaves, their access should be revoked immediately.

#Adding a second administrator

Per LINE's help page: go to Settings, then Permissions, then Add member; choose Administrator from the permission dropdown; select Issue URL; send the URL to the person; they open it and log in with their own account. When their name appears in the permissions screen with "Administrator" next to it, it worked.

Three limits: the authorization URL is valid for 24 hours, can be used only once, and works for one member; an Official Account can have up to 100 members.

#Transferring primary ownership

Like Facebook, LINE Official Account has no "primary owner"; administrators are equal. The transfer is again add first, remove second: add the shop's account as administrator, confirm they can log in, then delete the original creator or the agency from Permissions.

Two things to change at the same time. First, the payment method. Administrators can change it, and the card on a paid plan should be the shop's own; otherwise the account stays but the charge runs on someone else's card, and when that card stops, the plan drops. Second, the login method. If the original administrator logged in with a personal LINE account, make sure at least one administrator logs in through a method the shop controls; which login options are offered depends on the platform at the time.

#Common dead ends

The creator has vanished and there is no other administrator. Per LINE's official FAQ, if you cannot log in to your Official Account, go to the support form and select, in order, the device with the problem, LINE Official Account, login problems, cannot log in, then tick the reason and describe the situation. Prepare evidence of the business's relationship to the account. LINE decides the outcome; no guarantee here.

A personal LINE tied to the shop. LINE's most common problem: the Official Account was set up by the owner's son on his own LINE. A new phone, a new number, or trouble with his account all affect the shop. The fix is the second administrator above, and that second person must not be yet another private LINE.

#Four rules that apply to all three

1. At least two people with top-level access on every platform, both on the shop's side. The owner, plus a family member or core manager.
2. At least one top-level login on a company mailbox. For Google Business Profile, use the company Google account as an owner directly. Facebook and LINE cannot be logged into with a company account, so make sure the company's business portfolio, or the payment method, is in the company's name.
3. Add first, remove second. Every transfer brings the new person in and confirms they can log in before the old one is removed. Not one second with nobody in charge.
4. Put it on the offboarding checklist and review the lists quarterly. Screenshot the permissions list on all three platforms and compare every three months.

These three platforms plus the domain are the four things a shop most often has registered in someone else's name. The domain article is here. If you want every account listed in one pass, whose name, who has access, when it expires, that is what the Digital Asset Inventory does. The service is currently delivered in Chinese.

I spent ten years as a financial advisor and now run Ultra Lab. Adding a second administrator is the same idea as naming a contingent beneficiary on a policy.

FAQ

What is the one action that matters on all three platforms?

Add a second person with the highest level of access, using an account the shop itself controls. On Facebook that is a second person with full control, on Google Business Profile a second owner, on LINE Official Account a second administrator. An account with a single administrator disappears with that person if they vanish or their account is disabled, and none of the three platforms offers a reliable self-service way to get it back.

The owner of our Google Business Profile has left and cannot be reached. What now?

According to Google's help page, go to business.google.com/add, find your business, select Request access and fill in the form. The current owner is notified by email and has 3 days to respond. If there is no response after 3 days, you may be able to verify and claim the profile yourself, but Google states plainly that the option to claim is not always available, so the outcome is not guaranteed.

How long is the LINE Official Account invitation link valid?

According to LINE's official manual, the authorization URL is valid for 24 hours and can be used only once; each URL works for one member. An Official Account can have up to 100 members.

Does the new Facebook Page experience still have an admin role?

The new Pages experience splits permissions into two kinds: Facebook access and task access. Facebook access is further split into full control and partial control. Full control corresponds to the old admin role: it can manage all settings, delete the Page, and give or remove other people's access. Only people with full control can give or remove access.