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Getting tagged on TikTok by strangers? Here’s how to untag yourself

Ayush Chourasia
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TikTok, like any social platform, is no stranger to spam and bots. Most recently, the app has been plagued with reports of using being tagged on TikTok by strangers.

Apparently, a lot of TikTok users are being tagged in random videos by strangers. The issue has been raised by multiple people on Twitter. One Twitter user reported that they had been tagged by 15 different overnight, all of which posted the same thing. Another person stated that they were tagged in nine videos even after privacy settings were changed.

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Appears tiktok is the next sm app that's gonna get blown up by bots.
Got tagged by 15 different "accounts" overnight, all posted the same thing. 🤦
I was enjoying tiktok.

— Bawse. Aka Cam. (@DatBawse) July 11, 2022

opened tiktok to see I was tagged in 9 of the same spam video even after I changed my settings 🙃

— L (@lisanajune) July 11, 2022

if i get tagged in one more video on tiktok by these bot accs that r posting random ads or kpop edits im gonna scream

— idlefawni (子鹿)🦌 VTuber (@idlefawni) July 11, 2022

Throughout all of the reports, it appears that people are being tagged in the same video of a person dancing in a dress. The spam accounts tagging TikTok users are different, but it’s always on the same dancing video. As you’d expect, it’s a problem that has much of the TikTok userbase looking for a solution.

How to untag yourself on TikTok

A smartphone and two other devices on a white table. The smartphone has the TikTok logo on its screen.
antonbe/Pixabay

While we wait for TikTok to remove these tagging bots from the app, the best thing you can do is follow a few steps to prevent future tags — and untag yourself if one of the bots has targeted you.

The first step is to limit who can tag you on TikTok. Open TikTok and head to your profile page. Click the Settings tab, select Privacy, and look for the Mention and Tags option under the Safety section. Here, you can choose between the four audience options provided: Everyone, People you follow, Friends, and, No one. After choosing your preferred option, your unwanted TikTok tags should decrease substantially.

If you do happen to be tagged by a stranger on TikTok, you have the option to untag yourself from the video. Open TikTok and tap on the Inbox icon. Go to the All Activity tab to find your likes, comments, Q&A, mentions, tags, followers, etc. Select Mentions & tags, find the unwanted video you were tagged in, and select its notification. With the video open, chose the tags icon next to the username, select Remove Tag, and you’re done.

At the time of publication, it’s unclear how many people are affected by strangers tagging them on TikTok and when the bots will be gone for good. In the meantime, these are the best steps you can take to try and lessen any impact on yourself.

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Ayush Chourasia
Ayush Chourasia
Mobile Writer
Ayush works as an independent tech journalist. He has been writing since 2018 and has worked with publications like India…
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