Sometimes you may tag someone in a Facebook post or photo and later decide you want to untag them. Here are step-by-step instructions for how to untag someone on Facebook.
Untagging Someone from a Post
If you’ve tagged someone in a status update or other text post on Facebook, you can easily untag them:
- Go to your Facebook timeline and find the post you tagged the person in.
- Hover over the post and click on the three dots that appear in the top right corner.
- Select “Edit post” from the dropdown menu.
- Hover over the name of the person you want to untag and click on “Remove tag” when it appears.
- The person’s name will now show up without the tag.
- Click “Save” at the bottom when you are done. The post will be updated without the tag.
Once you remove the tag, the person will no longer be linked or notified about that post.
Untagging from a Shared Post
If you’ve tagged someone in a post that you’ve shared from another page or friend, the process is the same:
- Go to your timeline and locate the shared post.
- Click the three dots in the top right corner and select “Edit post”
- Hover over the name of the person tagged and click “Remove tag”
- Click “Save” and the tag will be removed.
Removing a Tag from a Photo
For photos and albums, you’ll need to go through a few extra steps to untag someone:
- Go to your Facebook profile and click on “Photos”
- Click on the photo album where the picture is located
- Find the photo you want to edit and click on it
- Hover over the image and click on “Options” when it appears
- Choose “Edit photo” from the dropdown menu
- Click on “Tag Photo” below the image
- Find the name of the person you want to untag and hover over it
- Click “X Remove tag” when it pops up
- Click “Save” to remove the tag
Once you save the changes, the tag will be permanently removed from that photo.
Untagging in a Photo Album
For albums with multiple photos:
- Go to your profile and select “Photos”
- Click on the album where the photo is
- Click on the photo you want to edit
- Hover over the picture and click “Options”
- Choose “Edit photo” then click “Tag photo”
- Remove the tag next to the person’s name
- Click “Save” and the tag will be gone
You’ll need to edit each photo individually to untag someone from an album.
Notifying the Person They’ve Been Untagged
When you untag someone on Facebook, they will not receive an automatic notification about it.
If you want to let them know you’ve removed the tag, you have a few options:
- Comment on the post saying you’ve untagged them
- Send them a message or email directly
- Post on your own Timeline that you removed the tag
- Tell them in person
There’s no feature within Facebook to notify someone if they’ve been untagged. You’ll have to reach out to them directly if you want them to know.
Why Comments Don’t Always Work
If you comment that you’ve removed someone’s tag, keep in mind that:
- They’ll only see it if they still have access to view that post
- Your comment could get lost over time as more are added
- Not everyone reads all comments on posts
A direct message or face-to-face conversation is the best way to ensure the person knows you’ve untagged them.
What Happens When You Untag Someone
Here’s what happens when you remove a tag on Facebook:
- The post or photo will no longer link to their profile
- They won’t get notified or see it highlighted on their own Timeline
- Any notifications related to that tag will disappear
- It won’t show up if someone clicks on their tags or views their activity log
- The post or photo stays visible, just without their name tagged
The Post Itself Doesn’t Go Away
Importantly, untagging someone does not delete or remove the actual post or photo. It just disconnects their name from it.
So if they already saw it before being untagged, they still have access to view the post itself on your Timeline.
Can Someone See if They’ve Been Untagged?
There is no feature that alerts someone if a tag has been removed.
However, the person could potentially notice if:
- They try viewing it from their own profile and see they’re no longer tagged
- The post stops showing up in their tagged section under Photos
- They check their Timeline views or activity log and see it’s disappeared
So while Facebook doesn’t directly notify someone, it is possible for the person to figure it out on their own.
No Automatic Alerts
| Notification Type | Sent when Untagged? |
|---|---|
| No | |
| Facebook message | No |
| Timeline highlight | No |
| News feed mention | No |
The only way to truly alert someone is by contacting them directly yourself.
Can Someone See Who Untagged Them?
There’s no way for someone to see who specifically removed a tag from a post or photo on Facebook.
The platform doesn’t keep track of or show who untagged someone – only that the tag is no longer there.
Even if you suspect a certain person untagged you, there’s no feature that confirms or shows this.
It Just Appears Untagged
To the person who was untagged, it simply appears that your name is no longer tagged – with no information about who actually removed it.
Facebook does not store, track or reveal who untagged someone from a post or picture.
Limits on Untagging Someone
In most cases, you can untag a person from as many posts and photos as you want.
However, Facebook will stop you from untagging in excessive volumes to prevent abuse.
Some limitations on untagging include:
- Can’t untag over a certain number per day
- Prevented from bulk untagging from old posts
- Blocked if rapidly untagging the same person repeatedly
- Restricted from untagging in quick succession
These limits help ensure the feature is used appropriately and not to harass someone.
What Triggers Untag Blocks
Facebook does not publish exact numbers, but excessive untagging in a short time can trigger blocks.
Actions that may lead Facebook to restrict your ability to untag include:
- Untagging over 100-200 times per day
- Removing tags from years of old posts all at once
- Untagging the same person from multiple posts in a row
- Removing a tag and re-adding it immediately after
Use the feature judiciously and limit mass untagging to avoid blocks.
What to Do If You’re Unable to Untag
If Facebook is preventing you from untagging someone, here are some troubleshooting tips:
- Wait several hours and try again more slowly
- Stick to untagging one post at a time
- Do not try to untag the same person repeatedly
- Untag a few posts now, and others over several days
- Report it as a bug if issues persist
Patience and spacing out your untagging should help lift any temporary restrictions on the feature.
Avoiding Untag Blocks Altogether
To avoid having your untagging ability blocked by Facebook:
- Untag only a few posts per day
- Do not rapidly untag someone from old posts
- Untag others as well, not just one person
- Space out untagging on posts over several weeks
Moderation is key when using the untag feature to prevent Facebook from restricting your access.
Get Someone Else to Untag You
If you’ve been tagged in a Facebook post or photo you want removed, but don’t have access to untag yourself, you can ask the person who made the post to do it for you.
Steps to get someone else to untag you:
- Identify who originally made the post or uploaded the photo
- Send them a message or email asking them to remove your tag
- Politely explain why you want the tag taken down
- Ask them to let you know once they’ve untagged you
- Confirm the tag is gone by checking under your profile photos
With the original poster’s cooperation, this is the easiest way to get untagged when you can’t do it yourself.
What If They Refuse?
If the person who tagged you doesn’t want to remove it, some options are:
- Ask again nicely, explaining how the post makes you uncomfortable or upset
- Offer to untag them in return from any posts of yours
- Report the post to Facebook and ask for the tag’s removal
- Hide the post from your own timeline if controversial
- Block the person so they can’t tag you in the future
Pressuring or harassing them to untag you may backfire – stay polite and reasonable in your requests.
Prevent Being Tagged in the First Place
Instead of untagging after the fact, you can also take steps to avoid unwanted tags in the first place.
Ways to prevent undesired tags on Facebook include:
- Adjusting your tag review settings
- Limiting who can see your posts and info
- Using alt text instead of tags in images
- Blocking people who tag inappropriately
- Being careful about what you share publicly
Planning ahead helps minimize the need to untag yourself later on.
Tag Review Settings
Under Facebook Settings, you can choose:
- Review Tags – Approve tags before they appear
- Review Posts – Approve tags in posts you’re tagged in before others see them
Enabling these settings gives you the chance to reject unwanted tags.
Conclusion
Untagging on Facebook is easy to do – just edit a post, photo, or album and remove the tag next to someone’s name. However, limits may be placed on excessive untagging to prevent abuse.
Remember that untagging alone doesn’t alert the person or remove the actual content. And Facebook doesn’t reveal who specifically untagged something.
When used responsibly, the untag feature allows correcting or removing tags you later reconsider.