Facebook’s privacy settings allow users to control who can see posts they are tagged in. When you tag someone, it creates a link to their profile. Who can view and interact with that post depends on your privacy settings and the audience selection for that post.
Summary
By default, posts you are tagged in are visible to the audience you selected when sharing the original post. For example, if you posted a public photo and tagged a friend in it, their friends would also be able to see you tagged the person since it was a public post.
You can customize your privacy settings for posts you’re tagged in. Options include:
- Public: Anyone including people off Facebook can see posts you’re tagged in
- Friends: Only your friends can see posts you’re tagged in
- Only Me: Only you can see posts you’re tagged in
- Custom: Restrict posts you’re tagged in to a custom audience like close friends, family, etc.
So in summary, being tagged in a post doesn’t automatically make it visible to everyone. It depends on your privacy settings, the post’s visibility, and your relationship with the person who tagged you.
Who Can See When You’re Tagged in a Post?
When someone tags you in one of their posts on Facebook, who can view and interact with that post depends on several factors:
- The audience selected by the person who made the post
- Your privacy settings for posts you’re tagged in
- Your relationship with the person who tagged you
Audience of the Original Post
The visibility set by the user who made the post determines the initial audience. For example:
- If Alice posts a public photo and tags Bob in it, then all of Alice’s friends and the general public can see it.
- If Carol posts a photo visible to Friends Only and tags Dan in it, then only Carol’s friends can see the post with Dan tagged.
Your Privacy Settings
Even if the original post is public, your privacy settings determine who can see posts and tags about you. You can customize this in your Facebook settings:
- Public: Anyone including people off Facebook can see posts you’re tagged in.
- Friends: Only your friends can see posts that tag you.
- Only Me: Only you can see posts that tag you.
- Custom: Restrict posts that tag you to a custom audience like close friends, family members, etc.
Relationship to the Person Tagging You
In some cases, your connection to the person who tagged you also matters:
- If you’re friends with the person who tagged you, friends of both you and the tagger may see the post depending on your privacy settings.
- If someone you’re not friends with tags you, the post may only be visible to mutual friends or to the tagger’s friends only depending on your settings.
Privacy Settings for Tags
You can customize your privacy settings for posts you’re tagged in:
- Go to your Facebook Settings
- Click on Privacy
- Go to Settings for Tags
- Choose who you want to be able to see posts you’re tagged in: Public, Friends, Only Me, or a Custom audience
This setting applies to all future tags. You can also set tag visibility on a per-post basis when approving tags.
Public Setting
A public setting means anyone, even people without a Facebook account, can see posts and tags about you.
Friends Setting
With the Friends setting, only people on your friends list will be able to see posts you’re tagged in. Friends of the person who tagged you can also see it.
Only Me Setting
Choosing Only Me means only you can see posts you’re tagged in. Others will not see tags linking to your profile.
Custom Audience
You can restrict tags to a custom audience like Close Friends, family, coworkers, etc. Only those people will be able to view and interact with posts you’re tagged in.
Reviewing Tags
When someone tags you in a post, it will appear under Review Tags in your Activity Log. You can approve or ignore the tag from there:
- Approving it will allow others to see the post with your tag based on the visibility settings.
- Ignoring the tag means it won’t appear on your profile. Only you and the person who tagged you will still see it.
You can also change the audience when approving tags. For example, you could approve a post so only certain friends see it versus the original public setting.
Untagging Yourself
If you’ve already been tagged in a post, you can remove the tag to unlink yourself from the post:
- Go to the post you’re tagged in
- Hover over your name in the post and click on the X icon
- Confirm you want to remove the tag
This will unlink you from the post so your name and profile are no longer associated with it.
Things People Tagged Can’t See
There are certain things the people you tag won’t be able to see, including:
- They can’t see the audience selection for the original post.
- They can’t see if you created a custom audience for approving the tag.
- They won’t get notified if you later untag yourself from the post.
So the visibility can change for someone you tagged without them knowing based on your subsequent privacy adjustments.
Limiting Tag Notifications
Many people find tag notifications annoying if they are tagged frequently. You can control which tags you are notified about:
- Go to Settings & Privacy
- Click on Settings
- Go to Notifications
- Adjust tag notifications per your preferences
You can disable notifications for all tags or just for tags from people not already confirmed as friends.
Conclusion
Being tagged on Facebook does not automatically make the post visible to everyone. Who can see it depends on:
- The post’s visibility set by the person who tagged you
- Your privacy settings for posts you’re tagged in
- Your relationship with the person who tagged you
You can customize your privacy settings for tags and review each tag request individually for more control. But in general, posts you are tagged in are not automatically public to all Facebook users or people off Facebook.