Facebook’s tagging feature allows other users to tag you in photos, posts, and other content on Facebook. When someone tags you, it creates a link to your profile and may publish that content to your profile’s timeline for all your friends to see. While tagging can be fun and help you connect with friends, you may want to control who can tag you on Facebook due to privacy or other concerns. Luckily, Facebook provides settings that allow you to manage who can tag you in various types of content.
Who Can Tag Me by Default?
By default, anyone on Facebook can tag you in posts, comments, and photos. This includes all your friends as well as people you may not know well (or at all). When you’re tagged by someone, the tagged content may be published to your timeline without your permission.
This default setting makes it easy for people to interact and share with you on Facebook. However, it also means you have minimal control over posts that mention you or photos of you that others can tag.
Review Tagging Notifications
When someone does tag you in a post, photo, or comment, Facebook will send you a notification. Tap or click on the notification to see the tagged content.
From there, you have options:
Approve the Tagged Content
If you’re fine with the tag, you can approve it and allow the content to be added to your timeline. The person who tagged you will be notified that you approved it.
Remove the Tag from the Content
If you don’t want the tag to show up on your profile, you can simply remove the tag. This removes the link to your profile from that piece of content. The content itself will not be deleted.
Hide the Content from Your Timeline
This option keeps the tag on the content but prevents that content from being published to your timeline. The tag will still be visible to anyone viewing the post or photo directly.
Give Feedback to the Person who Tagged You
You can send the person a message explaining why you don’t want to be tagged. This allows you to communicate your preferences in a friendly way.
Limiting Who Can Tag You in Posts
The first tagging option you can adjust is who can tag you in posts. This includes written posts, shared links, profile pictures, cover photos, and life events.
To adjust this setting:
- Click the arrow in the top right and select “Settings & Privacy”
- Click “Settings”
- Click “Privacy”
- Under “How people can find and contact you,” click “Who can post on your timeline?”
Here you’ll see different tagging options:
| Setting | Who Can Tag You |
|---|---|
| Everyone | All friends and non-friends |
| Friends and Networks | Your friends and people in your trusted networks |
| Friends Only | Only your confirmed friends |
| Custom | Only people and lists you select |
“Friends Only” is the most restrictive, preventing anyone except confirmed friends from tagging you. The “Custom” option allows you to target a specific list or group of people, like “Close Friends” or “Family.”
Limiting Tags in Photos
You can also control who can tag you in photos specifically. This includes tagging you in their own photos as well as photos you may be tagged in by others.
To adjust this setting:
- Click the arrow in the top right and select “Settings & Privacy”
- Click “Settings”
- Click “Privacy”
- Under “How people can find and contact you,” click “Who can see posts you’re tagged in on your timeline?”
This will show the same options for “Everyone,” “Friends and Networks,” “Friends Only,” and “Custom.” Choose the option you’re most comfortable with.
An additional setting under this section allows you to review tags people add before the photo appears on your timeline. Enable this if you want to approve tags individually.
Untagging Yourself from Photos
If someone does tag you in a photo you don’t want to be associated with, you can simply untag yourself:
- Click the notification when you’ve been tagged in a photo
- Hover over the photo and click “Options”
- Choose “Remove tag”
This will remove the tag so the photo is no longer linked to your profile.
Alternatively, find the photo you’re tagged in and click “Options” > “Remove tag” directly on the post.
Blocking Someone from Tagging You
If a particular person repeatedly tags you in inappropriate posts or photos, you can block them from tagging you in the future:
- Click the arrow in the top right and select “Settings & Privacy”
- Click “Settings”
- Click “Blocking”
- Type the person’s name into the “Block Users” box and click “Block”
This prevents them from tagging you or interacting with your profile in any way.
Pre-Approving Tags
Facebook has a review feature that forces people to get your approval before tagging you in certain contexts.
To enable this:
- Click the arrow in the top right and select “Settings & Privacy”
- Click “Settings”
- Click “Timeline and Tagging”
- Enable “Review posts you’re tagged in before the post appears on your timeline?”
When this is on, you’ll have to approve tags before they show up on your profile. This gives you an extra level of control.
Limiting Visibility of Your Posts
Another way to manage tagging is to limit the visibility of your own posts. When your posts are public, anyone can tag you in the comments. But when your posts are limited to certain audiences, tagging is also restricted.
To change post visibility:
- Click the arrow in the top right and select “Settings & Privacy”
- Click “Settings”
- Click “Privacy”
- Under “Who can see your future posts?” choose your desired audience, like “Friends Only”
This will restrict who can see and interact with your posts overall.
Preventing Tag Suggestions
When people are tagging photos or writing posts on Facebook, the site automatically suggests friends to tag based on facial recognition and other signals.
You can turn off tag suggestions if you don’t want your name popping up for others:
- Click the arrow in the top right and select “Settings & Privacy”
- Click “Settings”
- Click “Face Recognition”
- Disable “Do you want Facebook to be able to recognize you in photos and videos?”
This prevents Facebook from suggesting you when friends go to tag photos and posts.
Conclusion
Facebook offers many options for controlling who can tag you across the platform. Start by limiting tags in posts and photos to “Friends Only” or “Custom” in your privacy settings menu.
Fine-tune things further by blocking certain people from tagging you and making your own posts more private. Enable review requirements as needed. And turn off facial recognition if you don’t want tag suggestions.
With these Facebook tag settings adjusted, you can enjoy more control over the tags that appear on your profile.