View a Facebook brand page for a different region [Global/Country specific]

Facebook now redirects users to the region specific brand pages. Let’s understand it with an example – If you open the Facebook page of Nokia Mobile from India, then you will be redirected to the localized version i.e. Nokia Mobile India.  This happens even if you type in the URL for the global page of Nokia Mobile.

Not all brand pages act this way. Most of them still continue with the traditional method. That is the user can choose which region specific page to visit by searching for it or typing the URL directly.

Why are you sent to region specific Facebook page?

This is a part of the new Facebook feature in which brand owners can integrate their regional Facebook pages. Facebook calls it “Brand Redirect”. This allows brand owners to promote a single page URL globally. Facebook then handles the tedious task of showing the country specific pages to the visitors. Only a handful of the brands are currently using the

Maintaining country/region specific pages is important for brand owners. That’s because they can provide demography specific content.

Now, what if you want to view the Facebook brand page from a different region? Say, you are from India, but you want to view the posts from the Global page of Nokia Mobile. That’s possible! Facebook does provide users with the option of changing the page region. Alternatively, it is also possible to view a country specific Facebook page temporarily by adding a parameter to the URL.

Methods to bypass/skip brand redirect on Facebook pages

There are two ways in which you can access a country or region specific Facebook page. Both of them are explained below in detail:

Skip redirect using URL parameter (Temporary)

You can temporarily stop Facebook from redirecting to the regional brand page by adding a URL parameter. You can only add the parameter if you access the Facebook page(s) via the web browser on your PC or mobile phone. Here’s how:

1. Copy the URL of the Facebook page which you want to access.
   For example, if you want to access the Global page of NokiaMobile, then copy the URL i.e. https://www.facebook.com/NokiaMobile
2. Remove everything after the username. And add ?brand_redir=DISABLE at the end of the URL.

   

3. Hit Enter to visit the page. Facebook will not redirect you to a different region anymore.

You need to continue adding the URL parameter for every time you want to visit that Facebook page. You can also add a browser bookmark with the parameter already added to avoid adding it again and again.

The URL parameters also work for the mobile web version of Facebook. So, you can do the same on the mobile version of Facebook.

Skip redirect by setting a preferred region

Facebook also provides an option to set a preferred region for a Facebook page. Doing so will always show you that region specific version of the Facebook page instead of one defined by your location or IP address. Here’s how it is done:

Web Browser – PC & Mobile

1Login to Facebook & open the brand page. Make sure that you are logged into your Facebook account. Then open the page for which you want to change the region. In our example, we will open the Facebook page for NokiaMobile.

2Go to options & change region. Now you need to hit the three dots to open up additional options. Then choose “Switch Region”. The View Page for another country pop-up will appear.

3Choose the new region. Finally choose the region for which you want to view the Facebook page. Finally click on Save Preference to lock your choice.
From our example, we will choose “Default Page” to reach the standard global page of NokiaMobile.

From now onwards, you will be redirected to the region which you choose.

Mobile app users – not yet supported

If you’re using the Facebook app on Android or Apple phone, then you cannot switch region yet. Hopefully, Facebook will add the functionality to the mobile app with the next update(s). Till then you can resort to opening Facebook in your web browser.