Why is My Son’s Photo on Facebook’s New “Tag Friend Feature” in My Home Page?

As a mom with kids on Facebook, the concern for their security and safety is something that I’m very aware of, involved in, and on top of. Periodically, I will sit with my teens and go over their Account & Privacy Settings to make sure that information about them are only available to the options “friends only” or “only me” and are not made for public viewing.

This morning, I logged into Facebook and immediately began reading comments left by friends on photos that I tagged of them. I couldn’t help but to notice various ads that appear on the right side bar…sometime I’ll “like” a brand or connect with a “friend suggestion” if it catches my attention. But this time, I noticed this cute handsome kid in the upper right corner that looked just like my son. A double take…“My golly…it is my son!”

How is it that his photos that are set to “friends only” can appear in my home page in the new “Tag Friends Feature”? I began to play around with that feature putting my cursor over the square lines around his face and it actually gave me the option to crop his picture. What? How is this?

I thought perhaps we became friends recently and I just overlooked it. Nope. My son is not even my friend on Facebook and his photo should not appear on my homepage in the side bar’s “Tag Friends Feature.” I left the page for a second and went back to see if I could actually tag him, and his photo was gone from the side bar already but I managed to get a screen shot of my home page and as you can see, there’s my handsome son in the upper right corner.

I know, I know…some of you are thinking, “What? You’re not friends with your kid on Facebook?” No, I am not friends with my son. Not yet. I am friends with my daughter and that’s because she requested my friendship. Let me say, I was elated and felt honored that she would request her mom as a friend. And she’s also following me on Twitter.

But again, each child is different, each family is different, each relationship is different. I’ve taken each of my kids on as a case by case base when it comes to social networks. I’ve chosen to let my two oldest teens decide if they want to choose me as their friend as I’ve not demanded their friendship in order to be on Facebook. My youngest is not on Facebook yet and perhaps it will be a different situation with him.

I have a different philosophy when it comes to “friending’” your kids–but that’s for another post in which I will share on soon.

Back to the “Tag Friends Feature.” I called my son over so that we could review his Account & Privacy Settings right away. Yes, at any moment I can have access to my son’s Facebook; it’s something that we did agree on. It’s a way for me to check on him whenever I feel that I need to (again for that other post).

We went through each of the privacy options; everything appears to be the way we left it the last time we sat down together. Still trying to figure out the new Tag Friend Feature, I decided to go to the Help Center to see if there is something posted by Facebook and here is what it says,

“Only your confirmed friends can tag you in their posts. If you have blocked someone or removed them as a friend, they will not be able to tag you.”

Again, I’m not his friend and unless I’ve missed something…”Why is my son’s photo on the side bar’s “Tag Friend Feature” on my home page?

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Tagged as: Facebook, Social Media, Social Network, Tag Friend Feature