If you’ve tried tagging friends in your Facebook photos or albums and found that the tags don’t actually link to their profiles, you’re not alone. Facebook changed its photo tagging features in late 2020, leaving many users confused about how tagging now works.
What changed with Facebook photo tagging?
In December 2020, Facebook removed the ability to tag people who are not your Facebook friends in photos and albums. Now, you can only tag friends who are already connected to you on Facebook.
Previously, you could tag anyone on Facebook, even if you weren’t friends with them. The tag would create a link to their profile and notify them that you had tagged them. But this feature was removed due to privacy concerns.
Why did Facebook make this change?
Facebook decided to limit photo tagging to friends only in order to give people more control over their privacy. Before this change, anyone could tag you in a photo, which meant your profile picture and name could show up in photos all over Facebook without your knowledge or consent.
By restricting tagging to friends, Facebook put the ability to tag others in members’ hands. Now only your friends, who you know and trust, can tag you. This helps prevent unwanted tagging from strangers or acquaintances.
Does tagging friends still notify them?
Yes, tagging a friend in your Facebook photos or albums will still send them a notification letting them know they’ve been tagged. They will also be able to see the photo(s) they are tagged in from their profile.
So even though anyone who views your album won’t see links to your friends’ profiles when you tag them, your friends will still know you’ve tagged them in the photo.
Can I tag non-friends in photos?
Unfortunately, no. Facebook does not allow you to tag people who are not already your Facebook friends in photos or albums. If you try to tag a non-friend, the tag will not work.
The only way to tag someone who isn’t your friend is to send them a friend request. If they accept it, you’ll then be able to tag them in future posts.
What about public figures and brands?
Facebook does allow you to tag public figures, businesses, brands, and organizations in your photos, even if you don’t follow them or aren’t connected to their Facebook page. For example, you can tag a celebrity, restaurant, or company in a photo.
When you tag a public page like this, it creates a link to the page’s profile so people viewing your album can click to see the page. But the page will not be notified of or approve the tag since there is no friendship connection.
Can I turn off tagging for my profile?
If you don’t want friends tagging you in their posts at all, you can turn off tagging for your Facebook profile:
- Go to your profile and click “Settings & Privacy”
- Select “Settings”
- Click “Privacy”
- Under “How people can find and contact you,” deselect “Who can see posts you’re tagged in on your timeline?”
This will prevent all photo and post tags of you by friends from appearing on your profile. You won’t be notified when you’re tagged either.
What are the pros and cons of the new tagging policy?
Here are some pros and cons to Facebook’s new photo and album tagging changes:
Pros:
- Increases privacy and gives users more control over their name/image
- Reduces unwanted tagging from strangers or loose acquaintances
- Still allows tagging amongst friends who know each other
Cons:
- Makes it harder to tag people you want to in group photos, like at events or with new friends/acquaintances
- No longer links to non-friends’ profiles, so viewing album loses some context
- People may not realize when they’ve been untagged by someone else
Tips for photo tagging without non-friend tagging
It takes some adjustment to get used to photo tagging without the ability to tag non-friends. Here are some tips to make it work:
- Tag people who appear in group photos from left to right, top to bottom. Add a description like “Jane’s birthday party.”
- Ask new friends or acquaintances to add you on Facebook before tagging them.
- For photos at events/places, tag the event/location page instead of non-friends.
- Turn on tag review so you can approve tags before they appear on your profile.
- Remove tags of you that should not be visible on your profile.
Will Facebook ever bring back non-friend tagging?
It seems unlikely that Facebook will revert to allowing users to tag anyone on the platform again. The friend-only tagging policy provides more privacy protection and prevents misuse of tagging.
Facebook has been under intense scrutiny in recent years for its handling of user data and privacy controls. The company is focused on giving users more granular options for what appears on their profiles.
However, Facebook often walks back or adjusts new changes based on user feedback. If enough users strongly oppose the friend-only tagging restriction, there’s a small chance Facebook could re-open tagging to make it more flexible again.
For now, though, get used to only tagging people you are connected to as friends on the social network when sharing photos and albums.
Conclusion
Facebook limited tagging in photos and albums to friends only in late 2020 to increase privacy protections for its users. You can no longer tag non-friends who will be notified of and approving the tag. While some users find this inconvenient, the change gives people more control over their name and image on the social network. Be sure to review your own tagging settings and tag wisely to adapt to the new policy.