When the person who set up your accounts leaves: getting control back
In many small businesses, one helpful person set up the Instagram, registered WhatsApp on their phone, connected the mailbox and linked everything to an AI agent. When they leave, the business can find it does not fully control its own accounts. This guide helps you work out what belongs to the business, how to take back each account, what you cannot take, such as someone's personal LinkedIn profile, and how to tidy up your Spaces workspace and agents.
Start with a list: who controls what
Before you change anything, write down every account the business uses to talk to customers, and answer three questions for each: whose name or phone is it registered to, which email and phone receive its codes, and who can sign in today.
| Account | Usually tied to | The question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| The SIM in a phone | Is the number the business's, or the person's own mobile? | |
| An email and phone, and sometimes a Facebook profile | Whose email and phone are on it, and who has the two-step codes? | |
| Facebook Page and Messenger | The people given access to the Page | Is someone at the business an admin, or only the person who left? |
| One person's own profile | Is this a personal profile or a company page? | |
| Your email provider, often Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 | Who is the administrator, and is the mailbox shared or personal? | |
| Spaces | Your workspace members and AI agents | Who is the owner, and which agents and keys did the person create? |
If they are leaving on good terms
The easiest handover is one you plan together before their last day. Ask them to sit with you for an hour and go through this list.
- Change each account's recovery email and phone to ones the business controls.
- Move two-step sign-in to a device or password manager the business owns, and save fresh backup codes.
- Add a second person at the business as an admin on the Facebook Page and any business settings.
- For WhatsApp on their personal number, decide whether to move the business to a business number first.
- Change every password after they hand over, even if you trust them completely.
- In Spaces, check who owns the workspace and move ownership to the right person if needed.
If you cannot reach them
It is harder, but usually possible if the account was set up for the business. Use each platform's own recovery route, and expect to prove the account belongs to the business.
- Instagram and Facebook: use the "forgotten password" and "need more help" routes. Proof of the business, such as your website or documents in the business name, helps if you are asked.
- Email on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365: your administrator can reset the password and sign out every session. If the person who left was the only administrator, contact your email provider's support.
- WhatsApp on a business SIM: put the SIM in a phone the business controls and register WhatsApp there. If the person set a two-step PIN, you may need to wait before you can register.
- WhatsApp on their own mobile number: the number is theirs. You will need to move the business to a new number, as our guide on changing number explains.
Spaces cannot do any of this for you. It never holds platform passwords, and it has no route into Meta, LinkedIn, Google or Microsoft to transfer an account.
What you cannot take: personal LinkedIn profiles
A LinkedIn profile belongs to the person, not their employer, even if they used it mostly for your business. Their connections, messages and history go with them. A company page is different: the business owns it, and you can add or remove its admins.
If their personal profile was connected to Spaces so your agent could answer leads, that connection has to end when they leave. Disconnect it, and never try to keep using someone else's profile. For the future, consider who should be the LinkedIn voice of the business, and connect their own profile with their agreement.
The same applies to any personal account on any platform. If it is in their name and on their phone, it is theirs.
Tidying up your Spaces workspace
Spaces gives each person their own sign-in and role, which makes this part simple.
- Remove the person from the workspace. Removing a member, changing a role and moving ownership are all recorded in the audit log.
- Look at the AI agents they set up. Pause or remove any you no longer want. A removed agent's key and sign-in stop working at once.
- If you keep an agent they set up, replace any key they may have copied with a fresh one.
- Disconnect any account that belonged to them personally, such as their own LinkedIn profile or WhatsApp number.
- Reconnect business accounts that you have just taken back, using your own sign-in or a fresh QR code.
- Read the audit log for the last few weeks to check nothing unexpected changed.
| Role in Spaces | What it can do |
|---|---|
| Owner | Everything, including billing and members. |
| Admin | Accounts, keys and routines, but not billing. |
| Member | Conversations and their own send or read keys. |
| Viewer | Read only. |
Reconnecting without upsetting the platform
A takeover by the rightful owner can still look odd to a platform: new devices, new passwords, new recovery details, all in one day. Expect a security check or two, and give the accounts a quiet start.
| What your agent is told | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| ACCOUNT_NOT_CONNECTED | The platform signed the account out, or asked for a security check. | Open your dashboard and reconnect the account. Sending stays paused until you do. |
Every reconnected account starts the warm-up again. Instagram, for example, builds back up like this, and replies to people who write in are never held back.
| Since connecting | New conversations an hour | New conversations a day |
|---|---|---|
| First 3 days | 2 | 22 |
| Rest of week 1 | 4 | 40 |
| Week 2 | 6 | 60 |
| Weeks 3 and 4 | 8 | 85 |
| After that | 10 | 100 |
Example: working through it with your agent
Names and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Owner | Chloe left on Friday. Which of our connected accounts were hers? |
| AI agent | Four accounts are connected. The shop Instagram and the hello@ mailbox are business accounts. The WhatsApp number ending 214 and the LinkedIn profile are in Chloe's name. I can see that from the accounts list, but you will know better than me whether the number is hers. |
| Owner | The LinkedIn is hers. Disconnect it. The number is the shop's SIM. |
| AI agent | I will disconnect the LinkedIn profile once you confirm, and Spaces removes its copy of those messages straight away. I have not sent anything from it since Friday. For WhatsApp, put the SIM in a shop phone and reconnect it with a fresh QR code when you are ready. |
Setting things up so it does not happen again
- Register business accounts with business email addresses, such as hello@ or admin@, never someone's personal inbox.
- Use a business SIM for WhatsApp, kept in a business phone.
- Keep two-step sign-in codes in a password manager the business owns.
- Always have at least two admins on Facebook Pages and company pages.
- Make sure the owner of the business is also the owner of the Spaces workspace.
- Give each person their own Spaces sign-in with the role they need, and remove it the day they leave.
- Keep a written list of accounts, recovery details and who has access, and review it whenever someone joins or leaves.
Notes to give your AI agent
Staff changes:
- Chloe has left. Do not mention her to customers as their contact. Say "the team" instead.
- Her LinkedIn profile is no longer ours. Do not send anything from it.
- If a customer asks for Chloe, say she has moved on and offer to help or pass them to me.
- If Spaces says an account needs reconnecting, tell me and stop.
- For the next two weeks, reply to people who write in and start no new conversations.Who you message
Summing up
List every account and who controls it. Plan the handover together if you can: move recovery details, two-step sign-in and admin access to the business, then change passwords. If you cannot reach the person, use each platform's own recovery route and expect to prove the account is the business's.
Accept that personal profiles, such as their own LinkedIn, leave with them. In Spaces, remove the member, review their agents and keys, disconnect personal accounts and reconnect business ones gently. Then set things up so the business always holds the keys.
Pricing
FAQ
Can Spaces transfer an account from a former employee to me?
No. Spaces never holds platform passwords and cannot move ownership on Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn or email. Use each platform's own recovery or admin tools, then reconnect the account in Spaces yourself.
Can I keep using a former employee's LinkedIn profile?
No. A personal LinkedIn profile belongs to the person, along with its connections and messages. Disconnect it from Spaces and connect the profile of whoever now speaks for the business, with their agreement.
What happens to the agents a former employee set up?
They stay in the workspace until you change them. Pause or remove any you do not want, and replace keys on any you keep. A removed agent's key and sign-in stop working at once.
Our WhatsApp is on their personal number. What can we do?
The number is theirs, so the business needs its own. Set up WhatsApp on a business number, tell customers in short personal messages, and let the new number warm up gently.
Will the platform think we have been hacked?
It might ask for a security check, because new devices, passwords and recovery details all at once look unusual. Complete the checks yourself, give the accounts a quiet start, and reconnect them in Spaces.
How do I remove someone from Spaces?
An owner or admin can remove them from the workspace members in the dashboard. The change is recorded in the audit log, along with who made it and when.
Who should own the Spaces workspace?
The owner of the business, or the person responsible for it, because the owner role controls billing and members. Move ownership before a key person leaves if it sits with them.
Do we lose the conversations when we disconnect their account?
The conversations stay on the platform, in that person's account. Spaces removes its own short-lived copy straight away. If customers need follow-up, answer them from a business account.