Here’s Why You Probably Can’t Tag Someone on Facebook

Tagging is an essential tool on Facebook. You can tag your friends and family in a text post, comment, video, or picture. People can use tags to give their Facebook friends access to group photos or videos. They can also use tags to help their friends find pages or other posts they think those friends may like. Despite tags being so helpful, they also come with rules and settings that sometimes make them fail.

Read the article below to find out why you can’t tag people on Facebook.

Can’t Tag Someone in a Facebook Post

From the beginning, Facebook has offered comprehensive security settings. These settings allow users to determine how much of their content their friends, friends of friends, or strangers are allowed to see. Tagging is included in these settings, and people can control how they are tagged on the platform. This will affect your ability to tag those people.

See below for the settings that may prevent you from tagging someone on Facebook.

1. User Denied All Tags

Users can deny all tags regardless of who is tagging them or why. This is the most secure privacy setting a user can select regarding tags. This keeps everyone, regardless of friend status, from tagging them. The only way to get around this is if that person decides to downgrade their privacy settings.

Facebook does not currently offer tagging settings based on users, but it lets you choose who can see tags if they don’t already have access. For example, it’s presently impossible to allow tagging for one or a set of designated friends while denying tagging to others. Still, it is possible to choose a custom list of friends or others you want to allow to see the post you were tagged in.

2. User Reviews All Tags

Users can select the tagging option: “Review posts friends tag you in before they appear on your timeline?” When this is turned on, you can technically still tag them. However, the user will be able to approve or deny all tags. If they accept the tag, the post will continue as usual. If they reject it, the tag on your post will be removed.

3. Facebook Friends Status

If you are not a friend of the person you are tagging on Facebook, you can still tag them. They will be notified in their Timeline Review that you have tried to tag them in a post. From there, they can approve or deny the tag. If they deny the tag, it will disappear from your post.

4. User Removed Tag

Users can also remove the tag on any post regardless of its age. If you’ve ever noticed that a tag has disappeared from one after successfully processing it, this is probably what has happened.

Even if the user has allowed all tags or previously approved a certain one, that tag can be removed anytime.

5. User Deleted Account

Sometimes, a previously approved tag suddenly reverts to plain text. While a tag usually disappears when permissions are revoked, this change only removes the link. This has happened because the user you tagged either disabled or deleted their account.

Should the user ever reenable their account, the tag will reappear. If they outright delete the profile, the tag is gone forever.

Can’t Tag Someone in Other People’s Photos

You can tag people in other people’s posts as well. People use this ability to quickly share a funny meme or relevant post with someone they know. You can often see people tagging others in the comments of posts on public pages. If you’ve ever tried this and it’s failed to work, there are a couple of reasons why this can happen.

1. Settings of the Person You Tagged

The person you tagged may have a blanket denial on all their tags. The post will not appear on their timeline, and they will not be notified that you attempted to tag them.

The person you tried to tag may require all their tags to be approved first. They will be notified that you want to tag them, and they can deny it. If that is the case, the tag will disappear, and the post will not be on their timeline.

If you are not Facebook friends with the person but tag them, the process will be the same.

2. Poster Has Power Over Tags

The person who originally posted the content ultimately has the power over the tags on that post, regardless of the settings of the person you tried to tag. The user who made the post can decide how tagging functions work on that post.

Any attempt to tag someone in a post you didn’t make will have to be approved by the original poster based on their privacy settings. The one who made the post can accept or deny the tag. If denied, it will be removed.

Can’t Tag People on Facebook Pages

You can tag Facebook pages in your posts. Many business pages rely on tagging to spread the word about their services and get more exposure. However, a tag on a business page may sometimes fail or disappear from your post. This could have happened for several reasons.

1. Page Denys Tags

It’s rare for a Facebook page to shut off the ability to tag the page completely. However, it does happen. Like an individual user, a page can deny all tags.

2. Page Reviewed Tag

It’s more common for a business page to review its tags than to deny them altogether. Some pages will check all tags and only allow the ones they deem appropriate or beneficial for their page. If your tag failed, the page probably denied your tag.

---

In closing, many Facebook users consider tagging an essential feature of their social media experience. It’s not uncommon for some Facebook friends to tag each other in multiple posts or comments daily. For these users, having tags turned on is how they prefer to use Facebook.

For those who prefer to keep tags turned off or on review, the ability to control or silence lots of incoming content will enhance their social media experience. Many business pages also prefer this filter, giving them more control over the image of their page.

Facebook Tagging FAQs

Can I tag people in a Facebook group?

Yes, you can tag someone in a Facebook group post. However, the tag may fail depending on the user’s privacy and Facebook group settings. The person may also remove the tag later on. Keep in mind that you can only tag other members of the group in a group post.

I have my tags turned off. Can I still tag someone else?

Yes, the ability to tag another person is based on the other person’s settings and not your own. You can still tag other people if you’ve chosen to turn off your tags. You cannot tag if that person has also turned off their tags.

Can I stop tags on certain content but allow it for others?

It is impossible to stop tagging certain types of content but allow it for others. For example, you cannot impose a blanket tag denial on videos but allow all pictures. The only way to accomplish this is to filter tags you don’t want on the content by reviewing each tag as it’s made.