What happens when someone tags you, and how to control it
When someone tags you in a photo or post, Facebook shows that tag to your friends and theirs — and it links to your profile. By default, tags appear on your timeline when ready. If you turn on tag review, every tag waits for your approval before it shows anywhere. You decide which tags stay visible and which ones you remove.
Tag review is a setting you control in your privacy options. It does not prevent people from tagging you; it just gives you a chance to see the tag first and decide whether it belongs on your profile.
Key Takeaways
- Tag review is a Facebook setting that holds new tags for your approval instead of posting them when ready to your timeline.
- You turn on tag review in Settings under Privacy, in the section labeled "Who can tag you in posts?"
- When someone tags you, you will see a notification and can approve or reject the tag from that notification or from your pending tags list.
- Approving a tag makes it visible on your timeline and in the photo or post; rejecting it removes the tag but does not delete the photo or post itself.
- You can review old tags you already approved and remove them at any time from your timeline or the photo itself.
How to turn on tag review in your privacy settings
Open Facebook and go to the down arrow in the top right corner of your screen. Select Settings and privacy, then Settings. On the left side, click Privacy.
Look for the section labeled Who can tag you in posts? You will see a button next to it. Click that button and select Review tags people add to your own posts before the tags appear on Facebook. This turns on tag review.
Once tag review is on, any new tag someone adds to a post or photo will not show on your timeline until you approve it. Tags that were already on your profile before you turned this on will stay visible.
How to approve or reject a pending tag
When someone tags you, you will get a notification. You can approve or reject the tag right from the notification by clicking the thumbs-up or X icon. You can also go to your profile, click the menu (three dots), and select Review pending tags to see all tags waiting for your decision.
If you approve a tag, it appears on your timeline and in the photo or post where you were tagged. If you reject it, the tag is removed from your profile, but the photo or post stays — the person who posted it can still see it, and their friends can still see it. Rejecting a tag only removes your name from it.
You do not have to decide right away. Pending tags will sit in your review queue until you act on them. There is no time limit.
How to remove tags you already approved
If you approved a tag in the past and now want it gone, you can remove it. Go to the photo or post where you are tagged, click the three dots in the corner, and select Remove tag. The tag disappears from your timeline and from the photo.
You can also go to your profile, find the photo or post, and click the X that appears when you hover over your name in the tag. Either way, removing a tag does not delete the photo or post — it just takes your name off it.
What tag review does and does not do
Tag review only affects tags on your own timeline and in photos you are in. It does not stop people from tagging you in comments, in group posts, or in their own posts on their own timeline. Those tags will still appear without your approval.
Tag review also does not prevent someone from tagging you in a photo they upload — it just holds that tag for your review. The photo itself is still visible to whoever the person shared it with. Rejecting the tag removes your name from the photo, but the photo remains.
If you want more control over who can tag you at all, you can go back to the Who can tag you in posts? setting and change it to Only me or Friends. This limits who has the ability to tag you in the first place, rather than just reviewing tags after they happen.
Where to find your pending tags list
Go to your profile and click the menu (three dots in the top right of your cover photo area). Select Review pending tags. You will see all tags waiting for your decision, with the photo or post and the person who tagged you.
From this list, you can approve or reject each tag one at a time. You can also click on a specific tag to see the full photo or post before you decide.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I reject a tag, can the person who tagged me see that I rejected it?
No. When you reject a tag, the person who tagged you does not get a notification. They will not know you rejected it. The photo or post stays on their timeline; your name is just removed from it.
Can I turn off tag review for some people but not others?
No. Tag review is an all-or-nothing setting. When it is on, all new tags go through review. You cannot approve tags from friends automatically while reviewing tags from others. You can, however, limit who can tag you in the first place by changing the "Who can tag you in posts?" setting to Friends instead of Everyone.
What if someone tags me in a comment instead of in the post itself?
Tag review does not cover tags in comments. Those tags appear when ready. If you want to remove a tag from a comment, go to the comment, click the three dots, and select Remove tag.
Does tag review work the same way on mobile and desktop?
Yes. The setting works the same way on both. You turn it on in Settings under Privacy on either device. Notifications about pending tags will come through on whichever device you use Facebook on.
If I turn off tag review later, what happens to tags I rejected?
Rejected tags stay rejected. Turning off tag review does not bring back tags you removed. If you turn tag review back on in the future, only new tags will need your approval.