Being tagged in a post or photo on Facebook can notify you that something is happening online that involves you in some way. Here’s an overview of what tagging does and how you can manage tags if you don’t want to be notified or shown in certain posts.
What Does Tagging Do?
When someone tags you in a post or photo on Facebook, they type your name which creates a link to your profile. Tagging serves several purposes:
- It notifies you that you were mentioned in a post or photo
- It links your profile to that content so people can click your name and view your profile
- It shows up in your profile’s Activity Log so you can see when you’ve been tagged
Being tagged essentially associates your profile with certain content on Facebook. It leaves a trail of connections between you and posts you’re involved with in some way.
Getting Notified of Tags
When someone tags you, you will get a notification on Facebook. The notification shows you a preview of the post and who tagged you. You can click on the notification to go directly to the post or photo you’re tagged in.
Notification alerts for tags depend on your settings:
- On desktop, you may get a red notification counter at the top of your screen
- On mobile, you may get a push notification sent to your device
- Via email if you have email notifications enabled
This helps make you aware of tags so you can check them out or untag yourself if needed.
Viewing Tags in Your Activity Log
In addition to notifications, tags also show up in your Activity Log. This is a private log that only you can see.
To view your log:
- Go to your profile
- Click on the Activity Log tab in the left sidebar
- You’ll see “Tagged in Posts” and “Tagged in Photos”
This helps you keep track of everything you’ve been tagged in recently in one place.
What Shows Up When You’re Tagged?
When someone tags you, it will display your name and a link to your profile wherever they tag you. For example:
- In a status update, your name will appear underlined in blue text that people can click on
- In a photo or video, your name will show up in a tag pointing to where you are in the image/video
- In a shared memory on your Timeline, it will say “With [Your Name]”
You will only show up this way on your friend’s profile. On your own profile, tags will just show generic text like “You were tagged in a post.” Unless you approve the tag, it will not reveal any photos, videos, or text you were tagged in.
Who Can See the Tag?
The visibility of any tag depends on the audience settings for that content:
- Public: Anyone who visits that post or photo
- Friends: That person’s friends only
- Specific friends: Only the friends they tagged and customized
- Only me: Just the person who posted it
So a wider audience can potentially see a public tag versus a tag on content shared with “Only me.” But tags are always clickable only to the person’s direct friends regardless of audience.
Do I Get Notified of Tags in Private Groups?
Yes, you can still get notifications if tagged in private groups on Facebook, such as:
- Private or secret groups
- Community groups
- Professional networking groups
Even though the group content itself is only visible to members, tags work the same way. You’ll get notifications and be able to see the tag in your Activity Log.
The only difference is tag visibility. Non-members won’t see tags in private groups when visiting someone’s profile or posts. But tags help make group members aware of relevant conversations.
Can You Stop Someone From Tagging You?
If someone keeps tagging you in posts you want nothing to do with, you have options to prevent being tagged in the future.
Untag Yourself
If you’ve already been tagged, you can untag yourself by removing your name from the post or photo. To untag yourself:
- Go to the post/photo you’re tagged in
- Hover over your name and click the X icon
- Confirm you want to untag
This removes the association between you and that content. You won’t get notifications about that post anymore. And your name will no longer be linked or visible.
Block the Person
You can outright block the person tagging you from seeing your profile or contacting you. This prevents them from tagging you in the first place. To block someone:
- Go to their profile
- Click on the three dots in the top corner
- Select Block
This cuts off all interactions with that person until you unblock them again.
Review Tags Before They Appear
You can make it so you manually approve any tags before they go live on Facebook. To enable this:
- Go to Settings & Privacy
- Click Settings
- Click the Tags tab
- Toggle “Review posts you’re tagged in before the tags appear on your profile” ON
This adds an extra step where you need to approve tags first. If you take no action, the tags will be automatically rejected after a while.
Limit Old Posts You’re Tagged In
If you don’t want old tags showing up, you can limit the audience of past posts where you’re tagged. This prevents those tags being seen broadly. To limit old posts:
- Go to your Activity Log and click “Limit Old Posts”
- Customize exactly which friends can see old posts you’re tagged in
- Click Confirm
New tags will still appear normally. But this cleans up your profile’s visibility for anyone not included in your customized list for old tags.
What Happens When You Delete a Tag?
Deleting or untagging yourself from content prevents your profile from being associated with it. Specifically:
- Removes the link to your profile from that post/photo
- Stops notifications about that post from reaching you
- Removes the tag from your Activity Log feed
However, untagging yourself does not delete or remove the actual post/photo itself. That content will remain visible to whoever shared it originally. You just disconnect your name from it.
The Post Stays Up
If someone tags you then deletes the tag, the underlying post or photo itself does not get deleted. For example:
- A status update stays in place without your tagged name
- A photo remains on Facebook without your tag in it
The only change is your profile is no longer linked to it. The original sharer can still see their post as normal.
It’s Not Deleted From Facebook’s Records
Facebook still has a record of where you were originally tagged. Untagging does not wipe that tag from their systems. So if the post/photo gets restored, your untagged name could reappear.
Deleting just severs the live link between your profile and that content. But Facebook still remembers you were once connected to it behind the scenes.
Can You See Who Views Your Tags?
When other people view tags linking to your profile, it does not show up in your visibility settings or Activity Log. Facebook does not expose any analytics about:
- How many people clicked on your tagged name
- Which specific people viewed your profile from a tag
- Where your tags received the most views from
So there is no way to tell if a particular tag drove people to view your profile. The visibility is one-way – you can see tags of you but not their reach.
The Only Analytics Are For Page Owners
Page owners can see analytics about which posts, photos, and tags drive the most profile visits. But regular users cannot access this for their personal profiles.
So when you’re tagged personally by friends, it does not reveal if that tag got a ton of views or just a few. Facebook considers tags on user profiles to be private information.
Do Tags Help Improve Ranking?
Getting tagged can potentially help boost your profile’s visibility and reach new people. But it has little impact on your account ranking or search placement on Facebook itself.
Tags Don’t Influence Your Profile Ranking
Facebook does not use tags as a metric to score and rank user profiles. Profiles are ranked based on factors like:
- How complete your bio info is
- Your network of friends/followers
- How actively you post and engage
Getting tagged does not make Facebook view your profile as more important or authoritative compared to others.
But Tags Can Increase Profile Views
While tags don’t boost ranking, they can get you more profile views by default. When people see your tagged name and click through, that counts as a view. So frequent tags equals more awareness:
| Number of Tags | Projected Profile Views |
|---|---|
| 5 tags | 25 views |
| 25 tags | 100 views |
| 100 tags | 500 views |
For maximum reach, you want to be tagged by profiles with a lot of friends/followers. That puts your name in front of more people to find and view your profile.
Conclusion
Being tagged on Facebook connects your profile to specific posts and photos you’re involved with online. It leaves a trail of associations between you and content on the platform.
Tagging notifies you when you are mentioned and gives you options to untag yourself. Overall, tags help increase profile views but don’t influence formal ranking metrics.
Managing tags can be important to control what you’re associated with publicly. But increased exposure from relevant tags can also be beneficial social proof.