Have you ever been tagged in a photo only to untag yourself immediately for one reason or another? It’s a common problem and it’s something that Facebook could easily resolve by requiring user to approve all photos they’re tagged in or have some sort of delay before tagged photos appear to all users. The rationale is that there’s no clear benefit of allowing users to instantly tag a user.
Facebook benefits from the photo tagging process in that it increases user engagement. By introducing a photo tagging approval process, Facebook would still experience increased engagement as users log in to check the photo they were just tagged in. While Facebook would need to ensure that the majority of users are not untagging themselves from all photos, it would present a layer of security that only privacy settings currently enable.
Alternatively, Facebook could also make photo tagging a more granular feature. The argument against that would be added complexity to the existing photos application will make it harder to use. Also, why change what is essentially the most popular photo application in the world? Both arguments are legitimate, however I can’t say how frequently I get tagged in photos which are not relevant to me.
While I doubt this is as much of an issue for the average user, I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen tagged in photos which are the equivalent of spam. While I’m not exactly laying out well structured argument for a Facebook photo tagging approval process, it appears to make a lot of sense and there are very few downsides to it.
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Yes definitely!
There should be tagging approval system on facebook.
Comment by Shahab khan — December 8, 2009 @ 10:00 am
I would love to need to approve tagged photos. Kind of like how you have to approve photos from an application?
This is definitely more beneficial to users than telling them to "set tagged photos as private."
Comment by Navarr Tethyr Barnie — December 8, 2009 @ 10:07 am
they should just make it a privacy setting… allow certain users to tag photos, and others require approval
Comment by Zachary Allia — December 8, 2009 @ 10:18 am
they should and could easily implement this. especially since, they already have it set up so that if I want to tag myself in someone else's picture, the other user has to approve it.
likewise, i'd like to be able to approve people tagging me in their status updates as well.
Comment by trellis — December 8, 2009 @ 10:26 am
I also would love to have that control. I am continnually annoyed by people tagging me in images in which I don't actually appear. I hate those images filled up with several avatars in which an user would tag his/her friends according to what he/she thinks best describe them. I soooo untag from those ASAP!
But there's also another potential risk: What if someone post a picture in which an user actually appears, and tags that person… only to open a Pandora Box of problems for that person?
Say a Pepsi worker having a Coke? A secret agent on a concert? Tiger Woods with yet another lover? A lawyer having fun at his house with friends and being depicted in such a drunk appeareance just to have that pic shown next morning at trial?
Facebook should let every user control that kind of stuff, both for pics and videos. And maybe for notes too.
Comment by Darío Mart&ia — December 8, 2009 @ 10:33 am
I'd like to see a list-level permission for 'who can tag me' and have values for 'always', 'me approve' and 'never'.
So 'family' would be always and 'real friends' would be 'me approve'. 'Work' would be never
Similar permission for who can see tagged photos of me would be nice too.
Here is a use case for both that I learned about from some middle schoolers:
- on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, upload an insulting photo of someone you know is going to grandmas for the week
- tag them
- watch the responses for a week before the 'friend' can get home and fix it.
Comment by Chris — December 8, 2009 @ 10:33 am
I would be more than fine with being able to approve tagged photos of me. I know a girlfriend of mine was having issue last week with her old college friends posting party photos. While people involved may have laughed and been proud of those moments, ten years later they aren't always quite as funny.
Comment by Lisa Scarbrough — December 8, 2009 @ 10:34 am
Yes..That would be an awesome improve.. I cosider that some tags are only spam in your notifications..
Comment by TatoSgr — December 8, 2009 @ 10:35 am
Tag approval would be great. If it ever were implemented, hopefully I'd be able to pick and choose what types of tagging required approval. Photos and videos I'd like to be able to approve first, but when it comes to notes and @tagging I really don't care.
Comment by Andrew Ledwith — December 8, 2009 @ 10:42 am
I believe that a photo tagging approval process would be a big help in reputation management. If you miss a photo that you are tagged in and it is not a flattering photo, the photo may appear in a search by a prospective employer, depending on the level of privacy the tagger has on their photos.
This would also save you from being tagged in photos that are not really you. I have been tagged in photos and other postings that are not really me.
Although some people might complain about an extra step, I think this would be a great feature.
Comment by Amy C. Teeple — December 8, 2009 @ 10:47 am
This could be handled similarly to "view content" options. Allow me to specify from whom I need to approve photos, versus auto-approved tagging (for example, I'm okay with anything my coworkers tag, but I need to approve anyone I went to school with during my 'awkward phase')
Comment by Andrea Hill — December 8, 2009 @ 10:49 am
I think it's normal and logical that you fist approve !
Comment by Vince Devereaux — December 8, 2009 @ 10:55 am
I think this is a great idea. Given that Facebook is often used by HR professionals, recruiters and potential clients to check out a candidate, it would be nice to have the option of approving a tagged photo or not. Thanks for the post!
Comment by Colleen Bruemmer — December 8, 2009 @ 11:18 am
I have set my facebook privacy options not to show photos I'm tagged in publicly. Only I can see them…
Comment by Yare — December 8, 2009 @ 11:32 am
I'd like a privacy setting option where I could choose photo tags need approval, perhaps with the following options:
* Anyone can tag me
* Friends of friends can tag me
* Only friends and family can tag me
* All tags must be approved by me
Comment by redfred — December 8, 2009 @ 11:43 am
YES! I believe that one should have to approve being "tagged" in a photo. Also, I have been tagged many times when I wasn't even in the photo, and then, one has to delete all the subsequent comments as they are not pertinent. It is kind of a spamming thing, and even thought it's virtual, it is still each of our respective places – Jim Skafish
Comment by Jim Skafish — December 8, 2009 @ 12:08 pm
i absolutely believe users should approve tagged photos before they get sent out for all to see. i hate it when "friends" tag really bad photos of me – i never tag my photos out of courtesy to my friends. i send them an email letting them know if i posted an album and then let them decide if they want to tag themselves. because of the fear of finding undesirable photos of myself on facebook, don't partake in kodak moments anymore, which is a shame – seems like nothing is private anymore.
Comment by stop tagging me!! — December 8, 2009 @ 12:12 pm
i agree that a process whereby you agree to the photo tag is the way forward. perhaps its a photo that doesnt flatter or spam or whatever, the person who is in the photo should be able to decide prior to notification going out to all and sundry.
@mikeashworth
Comment by mike ashworth — December 8, 2009 @ 1:08 pm
I hate it when people tag Useless pictures of me it just annoys the crap out of me especially with this stalker picture app it is so freaking annoying got tagged 10 times already! LIKE WTF!
Comment by Arfan — December 8, 2009 @ 1:11 pm
it makes sense to me, i would rather it be an opt-in process rather than an opt-out process
Comment by dj adelaide — December 8, 2009 @ 1:38 pm
yes they should. very frustrating that this isn't even in the privacy options after all this time.
Comment by John Seethmore — December 8, 2009 @ 1:39 pm
Yes! and redfred's suggestion for options is excellent. really it should have been that way always and regardless.
It is very annoying to have to police what should have been a no-brainer privacy concern for Facebook.
Comment by cdbehrle — December 8, 2009 @ 3:20 pm
I would love this to be a required feature. I’m sick of my friends posting terrible photos of me from 10 years ago. On another note, I believe this would make users concerned about security more likely to participate on Facebook.
Comment by Dawn — December 8, 2009 @ 2:50 pm
Heck yeah and overdue!
Comment by Aaron Hughling — December 8, 2009 @ 2:58 pm
It works both ways….We use it to tag people on our flyers for our events, but we always tag people who are our friends and people we ask to tag, so no one ever complains. A lot of promoters just tag away with out consent and its a BIG problem down here in South Florida where everyone is a nightclub promoter.
Personally I would like the option to approve tagged pictures I am in.
Comment by len mauricio — December 8, 2009 @ 3:01 pm
Its really annoying to get tagged in pictures where you think you look bad because you look like a dickhead for untagging it. But if there were always an approval process, I think people would less often approve, which would be beneficial for the average user.
Comment by George — December 8, 2009 @ 4:38 pm
I'm a fan of this! Especially when they are photos of my kids that others are putting up i would like to be able to censor them before they go up!
Comment by Jade — December 8, 2009 @ 5:55 pm
I am a big fan of this one. With thousands of friends my tag photos end up in lots of places and it would be nice to be able to control them a little bit more.
Comment by Frank Gruber — December 8, 2009 @ 6:58 pm
I was thinking the same thing as redfred – FB could make it as a privacy setting option. It would be a good compromise I guess. I personally would prefer if people notified me before tagging but I´m sure some people do not mind at all.
Comment by Maarja Krillo — December 8, 2009 @ 7:23 pm
yes, but u can always untag urself
Comment by qrstuv — December 8, 2009 @ 8:36 pm
maybe it is
Comment by windboy — December 8, 2009 @ 8:47 pm
its really annoying just 2 check if anyone linked u on a photo, u dont want to!!!
in germany in the http://www.studivz.net and http://www.meinvz.net (similar to facebook) its already implemented for months…
and i really appreciate it.
but in germany the protection of data privacy is on a much higher level then in the US!
Comment by Marcus — December 9, 2009 @ 12:38 am
its very annoying.
in germany we have http://www.meinvz.net and http://www.studvz.net (similar to Facebook) where they invented exactly that option months ago…
but in germany the protection of data privacy is on a much higher level then in the US!
Comment by Marcus Missile — December 9, 2009 @ 1:52 am
Absolutely!! I disabled posting of photos to my wall ages ago because I want SOME control over my image on the web. I think most of us would….particularly those in business.
Comment by Barb Reindl — December 9, 2009 @ 7:29 am
The rationale is that there’s no clear benefit of allowing users to instantly tag a user.
The benefit is that your item is being displayed on whomever you're tagging's profile for all their contacts to see.
Though the option would be nice it would be nicer still for Facebook to ensure that applications are not auto-tagging a users contact list. That seems to be the real issue for most people.
@Dayngr
Comment by Dayngr — December 9, 2009 @ 8:35 am
I work IT and obtaining pics of people they don't want to post is way to easy. I vote need approval please.
Comment by B — December 9, 2009 @ 3:54 pm
Absolutely. Until it's implemented I'll continue beating the crap out of anyone who takes a picture of me.
Comment by Tyler — December 9, 2009 @ 6:09 pm
I'm amazed that they still don't provide this – I'd rate this as pretty important!
Comment by Rob — December 10, 2009 @ 3:38 am
I am so unphotogenic-I didn't know you could untag yourself-thanx for the heads up!
Comment by Diane — December 10, 2009 @ 12:36 pm
I have been saying this for a few years now. I don't see why it hasn't been implemented. It would be very easy to put into the system and it seems like something that should have been done from the start.
This seems like it would be a large privacy concern as well but was not addressed with their new set of rules and settings for privacy.
Comment by SSG — December 11, 2009 @ 5:49 am
i don't see being tagged a big fuss, because it's also easy to remove the tag by myself. with this slow internet connection thanks to living in a developing country, it's also easier for me to go directly to the photos to untag than to first see the notification to see who the tagger is then click approve if i like them or v.v. then click another link to see the photos, etc.. now that's what i call a fuss. after all, i only add people i know best, i don't add random people nor sellers who tag about everyone in order to promote their products. so far this tag things never bother me.
Comment by fe — December 12, 2009 @ 1:48 am
I think they should!
some time people tag others in random photos and its annoying
Comment by Shovan — December 13, 2009 @ 8:55 am
Yes yes and more yes. This is probably Facebook's biggest privacy shortcoming and the reason why I don't allow any photos to be seen at all.
Let's also as wall post approval to the list!
Comment by John — December 15, 2009 @ 3:27 pm
I was looking at my photos on my profile and all the photos I have been tagged on from friends all show up on my profile. Some of these photos are not photos I do not care to share with everyone. I know I can decide who sees my albums but I can't chose who sees these tagged photos of me and I am not cool with that. This needs to be changed.
Comment by Emily — December 28, 2009 @ 9:19 pm
Facebook needs to implement this. I cannot tell you how many nights I have gone out and been afraid that I would get "in trouble" with the girlfriend if she saw me where I was. This girl was extremely unreasonable, and therefore I am no longer with her, but this would have made the headaches faaaaar better. Please implement this….
Comment by Kenny — December 29, 2009 @ 4:28 pm
I have my tagged photos and videos privacy set to "only me" in order to avoid incriminating photos I've been tagged in from circulating via my news feed. Some photos I've been tagged in are actually pretty nice. Since I can access those photos and no one else can, it would be nice if I could toggle each individual photo that I actually like to be visible to others (or particular groups)…that way way I don't have to approve/refuse all tags in real time, but can go back later and choose which ones I want to make public.
Comment by Tim — February 22, 2010 @ 4:13 pm
Personally I'd like the option to prevent people tagging both photos of me, and photos that I have added. There can be really genuine reasons for people to wish this, and that aside I'm just sick of people who think it's funny to tag all their friends in a random photo.
Comment by Mark — April 29, 2010 @ 11:35 am
Tim, setting the privacy of tagged photos to only yourself won't stop people from viewing photos where you are tagged. It only applies to photos *you* upload.
Let me give you an example: someone uploads and tags a photo of you. They have set their privacy settings to allow the whole world to see their photos. The only way to stop random people from viewing this photo will be for you to untag it.
This is why FaceBook needs to implement a tagging system which incorporates the CONSENT of the people tagged. I have no idea why there isn't a "don't tag me in any photos/videos" setting.
Comment by Zelie — May 22, 2010 @ 8:40 am
i really hate how i get tagged on very stupid photos. i've seen other people's lives ruined by it. i mean it's so easy to destroy a person there… there should be a way to regulate those.
Comment by mememe — November 9, 2010 @ 9:50 am
This could easily be implemented, there is obviously a money reason involved because believe me, the $ comes way before anybody's privacy and dignity. Especially from a piece of crap like Mark Zuckerberg who calls his website users "Dumb F*cks".
Comment by Drew — January 7, 2011 @ 3:01 am