In 2023, Instagram users are prioritizing their privacy, and we are here for it!
Picture this: you’re out to brunch, and bottomless mimosas have just arrived. You have the perfect picture for your story with your bestie, but as you edit the image, they ask you if you can "Soft tag" them.
What??
You may have never heard the term, but it’s a trend, and we love it.
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A "soft tag" is when someone is tagged in your photo, but so subtly it's barely noticeable, if at all. Some call this ghost tagging, blind tagging, or subtle tagging. Whatever you call it, the premise is the same.
The purpose of soft tagging is to avoid taking away from the overall aesthetic of the content. Have you seen group pictures where there are like twenty people all tagged? All the handles distract so much from the post itself; it's just not the vibe. A soft tag is a workaround.
It also protects other people's privacy by not linking their page to yours. Let's all be honest with ourselves; we have all stalked some random person tagged in our friend's stories just because we were curious. Although normalized now, creepy as hell when you think about it!
How to soft-tag someone
There are a couple of ways to soft-tag someone in an IG story.
- Hide the tag behind something else - If you use stickers or text on your story, you can always hide the handle behind them. Just make sure the tag is smaller than the sticker or text.
- Color correction - If you don’t want stickers or text on your post, make the handle super small and draw over it with the coloring option to blend it in with the background. This will be a little more time-consuming, but it also is really fun. Go Picasso on it!
- Make it disappear - Another hack is to make the handle you need to hide as small as possible and position it as far off-screen as possible (just avoid the trash button at the bottom).
Soft tags are great for letting your friends repost your content without risking that your entire following stalks them later. Honestly, wanting privacy is reasonable, and soft tagging gives that option.
We have seen more private trends come into play in the past few years, and we honestly love it. Being loud and proud on social media is one thing, but respecting others' boundaries and privacy is also very important.
Conclusion
We hope you enjoyed this breakdown of soft tagging. We totally understand wanting privacy is fair, and we love that soft tagging makes it an option! Whatever your reason, we support all decisions to keep things private. The next time you go to tag someone in a story, try a soft tag!
