How to Prevent People From Tagging You on Facebook (and Why You Should)

Facebook tagging is a convenient way to connect with friends and family, but it can also lead to unexpected consequences. If you're not careful, you might find yourself tagged in photos or posts that you'd rather not be associated with. Here’s how to stop that.

How to Enable Tag Reviews on Facebook

Enabling Tag Reviews on Facebook gives you more control over what appears on your Facebook profile. It allows you to manually review and approve posts or photos that others tag you in before they show up on your timeline. By rejecting any tag requests, you essentially prevent anyone from tagging you on Facebook.

Here’s how to enable this feature:

1. Open the Facebook app on your phone and tap the menu icon in the top right corner.
2. Scroll down to tap Settings & privacy and select Settings.
3. Scroll down to the “Audience and visibility” section and tap on Profile and tagging.
4. Under the “Reviewing” heading, turn on the toggles Review tags people add to your posts before the tags appear on Facebook and Review posts you’re tagged in before the post appears on your profile.

That should do it. If you're using Facebook on a computer, the process is similar. That said, if you are looking to stop a specific person from tagging you on random posts, you can also consider blocking that person on Facebook.

How to Approve or Reject a Tag Request

With Facebook's tag review feature enabled, you'll receive a notification every time someone tags you in a post. You can then decide whether you want the tag to be visible on your profile. If you miss the notification or want to review all tag requests at once, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the Facebook app on your phone and tap the menu icon in the top right corner.
2. Tap on your name at the top of the screen to see your profile.
3. Tap the three-dot icon and select Review posts and tags.
4. In this menu, you’ll see all the tagged posts. Scroll through them and use the Hide or Add to profile buttons to reject or approve tags as you see fit.

Reject all the tags if you don't want anyone to tag you in any content on Facebook. Note that the Review Posts and Tags page will only show tags added after the tag review feature is enabled. For tags made before activating this feature, you'll need to go to your profile and manually untag yourself from Facebook posts.

Why You Should Be Reviewing Your Tags on Facebook

Credit: Prostock-studio / Shutterstock

By default, when someone tags you in a post or photo, it automatically becomes visible to your friends or even the public, depending on your privacy settings. While these tags may appear harmless, they can greatly influence how friends, family, colleagues, and potential employers perceive you. A post with inappropriate tags or negative comments can damage your reputation and personal relationships.

Spam tags can clutter your timeline with unwanted content, making it difficult for your friends and followers to see important updates. Additionally, some tags can be harmful.

People sometimes use tags to share dangerous content, promote phishing links, or spread inappropriate material. If you're tagged in these posts, you risk exposing your friends and followers to these threats, which could lead to identity theft or damage to your reputation. This is known as malicious social media tagging.

By regularly reviewing and managing tags, you can prevent unwanted content from appearing on your profile, thereby protecting both your digital reputation and your social network from exploitation. So it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with Facebook's tagging review feature.