Facebook tags are the new bugaboo. Since Facebook changed its and your privacy settings, it seems that when you tag a photo with a friend’s name, everyone who is a friend of that person can see and comment on your picture. Initially, I thought this wasn’t the case but it seems that it is. I have three Facebook accounts and I’ve tried all the different combinations. There is only ONE setting that eliminates this problem and it’s completely out of your control. The only way that a stranger can be kept from seeing and commenting on your post is if your tagged friend has her or his privacy set to ‘Only me’ in one key place. Let me explain.
No matter what your share settings are on anything you post on Facebook, even if you have a photo that is only open to one friend, once you tag someone in it, every one of your tagged friend’s friends can see your post and comment on it…depending on what settings your tagged friend is using. Read that again, I’ll wait.
Scenario 1: I have a photo that is shared with ‘friends only’. I tag my friend Sven in it. Sven and his friends can see that photo and comment on it. The tag may or may not show up on Sven’s wall, depending on whether he has accepted or ignored the tag review prompt. If the tag is not shown on Sven’s wall, then none of his friends can see or comment on my pic unless they are also friends of mine, obviously.
Scenario 2: I have a photo that is shared with only one other person, not Sven. For whatever reason, I tag Sven in that picture. Even though my share settings are set to Custom to share the picture with one friend only, Sven and his friends can now see and comment on that picture. It’s as if the original share status is ignored once the item is tagged.
Scenario 3: I have a photo that is shared with the ‘only me’ custom setting. I tag Sven in it. Sven doesn’t get notice of the tag, his friends can’t see the photo nor comment on it. Of course, only I can see it. Why this is different from using the custom share setting with only one friend on it is anyone’s guess.
There are many other scenarios possible, I’ve tried them all, believe me. I guess the lesson from all of this is that tagging is getting to be a real big pain in the butt. Once you tag someone, you open up your posts to complete strangers IF the taggee has ignored their privacy settings. It’s out of your hands unless everyone sets their privacy settings to ON in the Profile review section of How Tags Work. If you want to keep your stuff private DON’T TAG ANYONE.
It’s hard to believe that Facebook has opened itself up to losing even more users. Tagging used to be fun, now it’s a security loophole. Facebook better fix it or they risk losing users in droves.
Thanks for reading. Questions, comments, shouts, etc. are welcomed.
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