Tell me more ×
Web Applications Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for power users of web applications. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 10 down vote favorite
1

How can I stop friends from posting my location when they tag me and a location in their status? This Lifehacker post seems to be out of date.

share|improve this question
Thanks for the answers so far. I'm asking for a friend, and out of curiosity. As mark4o says, it can be about educating people not to mindlessly give out private info about others online, but Facebook could perhaps do more to help people use the features responsibly, and allow users to opt out of certain aspects entirely, especially the location features. I don't want to turn this into an discussion thread though - is there a technical solution to the question? – thebunk Mar 18 '12 at 19:18

3 Answers

up vote 4 down vote
  1. Go to Facebook Privacy Settings
  2. Click on Edit Settings next to How Tags Work (second from the top)
  3. Click on Friends Can Check You Into Places using mobile Places app (the lowest option) and disable it
  4. Click OK
share|improve this answer
Thanks, but I've tried this and it didn't work. Just tested it again, and it definitely doesn't - maybe it does for certain apps, but not for tweetdeck or the website. – thebunk Mar 12 '12 at 22:10
@thebunk: That's the only way to disable check-ins. I'm not sure what you mean with regards to TweetDeck but all official FB services (desktop & mobile) are regulated with that setting. – dnbrv Mar 12 '12 at 22:13
After I disabled this option I asked my SO to tag me and a location in her status (from the non-mobile website) - When I logged in I could see the post, including my tag and location, as could a mutual friend. It seems there isn't a way of preventing your friends from broadcasting your location from Facebook. – thebunk Mar 12 '12 at 22:44
@thebunk: Does the tag show up on your timeline? Does the location show up on your account's map? – dnbrv Mar 12 '12 at 23:03
Yes it does show up. – thebunk Mar 13 '12 at 14:07
up vote 4 down vote

This answer was close, go to Facebook Privacy Settings, Edit Settings, How Tags Work.

Then click on Tag Review. You'll then need to manually review any time someone tags you, but it lets you decline location tags (as well as pics and posts if that's to your liking).

share|improve this answer
With this feature, I can prevent my friends posts from appearing on my wall, but the posts still appear on their own wall (and on their friends walls) with my details. The alert does meant that I can untag myself from it manually, but I do think there should be the option to opt out of being location tagged. – thebunk Mar 13 '12 at 13:55
Actually it is the Timeline Review that allows the above. The Tag Review is for when friends tag my posts/photos – thebunk Mar 13 '12 at 14:02
up vote 1 down vote

Although Facebook provides a way to add a location hyperlink to a post, even without that your friends can still inadvertently share your location just as part of plain text or photos. For example if a friend tags you in a photo at some recognizable location then your location is apparent even though there is no location hyperlink. They could also tag you in a status update, or post directly on your timeline if you have not disabled that. If your friends are doing this against your wishes then tell them your concern and ask them to please not do that. If you don't tell them then they may not understand what you want, and may just do a similar thing some other way (e.g. writing a comment on one of your posts). If you have told your friends but they refuse to respect your wishes, unfriend them.

As a precaution, you can also change your privacy settings so that others will not see posts by others as a result of you being tagged in them, or posts by others posted your timeline. Set this by going to Privacy Settings, then Timeline and Tagging. Change Who can see what others post on your timeline? to Only Me. (Note that this will also prevent others from making any new post on your timeline.) Change Who can see posts that appear on your timeline because you've been tagged? to Custom; then choose Only Me and click Save Changes.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.