Why Can’t I Tag Someone on Instagram? 

Keynote

You can’t tag someone on Instagram if you’ve reached the 20-tag limit, the account is deactivated or banned, their privacy settings block tags, or technical issues occur. Update the app, clear the cache, or try a different tagging method to fix it. 

Instagram is one of the biggest social media platforms right now with its lively and colorful environment where people can interact with each other and have lovely moments. You can share moments and core memories with your friends via Stories and posts. However, sometimes you may face a problem and ask yourself “Why can’t I tag someone on Instagram?”  

Well, in today’s article, we are going to have a discussion about this issue and how you can come up with a solution. Let’s not waste any more time and get right into it! 

Why Can’t I Tag Someone on Instagram? (List of Reasons)

There are a couple of reasons why you can’t tag someone on Instagram. Some of them are technical and some are precautionary. In the following section, you can see the most common reasons that prevent you from tagging users on Instagram. 

1. Outdated App Version 

Instagram has been around for a long time now and sometimes you may miss an update on your phone. Which means that there are bugs and compatibility issues that can prevent you from tagging someone on Instagram. If your app isn’t updated, you may struggle to tag others or encounter similar technical issues. 

2. The Account No Longer Exists or Is Disabled 

If you find yourself asking “Why can’t I tag someone on Instagram?”, maybe the account that you want to tag is no longer available. It might be banned or disabled for temporarily. This is a quite common problem among Instagram users. You can double-check the account and make sure. 

There are certain reasons why an account cannot be found:  

• User Deactivation: The person may have temporarily disabled their profile. 

• Account Suspension or Ban: Instagram may have removed the account due to a violation of community guidelines. 

• Hacking or Security Issues: The account might be compromised or hacked

3. Tagging Limits and Restrictions 

Instagram has an algorithm that is constantly working to improve user experience. Because of the popularity of Instagram, there is way too much spam and fake accounts. These accounts are using the tagging feature to promote certain products or actions. If you tagged too many times (20 times per post). In that case, Instagram may confuse you with spam or bot accounts. In this situation, you can ask why can’t I tag someone on Instagram. 

4. Privacy Settings of the User 

There is an option in the privacy settings that allows you to adjust your taggings which means that if the person you are trying to tag turned off tagging, you can’t tag them on Instagram.  

5. Technical Glitches or Bugs 

Even if you are a big app like Instagram, you cannot fully get rid of bugs and glitches. Sometimes, you may face problems that can prevent you from tagging others or sharing a simple post because of server issues, sync delays, or crashes. 

How to Fix the Tagging Issue?

As you can see, these are the most common problems that prevent you from tagging users on your stories or posts. Now, let’s see what you can do to fix tagging problems. 

Update Your Instagram App 

The very first thing to do is update your Instagram app. The latest version of the app makes sure that you do not have any bugs and glitches so that you can have a better Instagram experience. If you do not know how to update your Instagram app, you can follow these steps: 

• Go to your App Store or Google Play Store. 

• Search for Instagram. 

• If you can see the “Update” button, click on it to update, if it is not visible, it means that you have the latest version of the app. 

• Once the update is done, you can restart the app and try tagging users on Instagram. 
   

Check the User’s Profile Status 

Sometimes, Instagram users are making changes to their privacy settings, it could be not allowing others to tag them on posts, deactivating or deleting their Instagram profile, leaving us with a question “Why can’t I tag someone on Instagram?” In this case, you might want to confirm the situation: 

• Search the user name on Instagram. 

• If you cannot find the account, it may be deactivated or banned. 

• If the profile appears, check if it’s set to private. 

• If the account is private, you need to follow the user first to tag them. 
   

Use Different Tagging Methods (Stories vs. Posts) 

On Instagram, there are different ways to tag someone and it varies based on the feature: 

• Stories: You can tag someone on Instagram stories by basically using @username or you can choose @mention in the sticker menu. Also, after you post your stories, you can add mentions by clicking on three dots and choosing it. 

• Posts: This is pretty regular one, before you post, you can tag others by clicking on the “Tag” icon. 

Always double-check the spelling of usernames to avoid failed tags, especially when using the text option in stories.

Clear Cache or Reinstall the App 

Because of the cache, Instagram might have glitches. By cleaning your cache, you can get rid of these glitches and tag someone on Instagram. If you still have the same problem, you can delete and re-install the app so that you can resolve this. 

To Clear Cache on Android: 

1. Go to Settings > Apps > Instagram. 

2. Tap Storage > Clear Cache. 

To Reinstall on iPhone or Android: 

1. Uninstall Instagram by holding down the app icon and selecting Remove App or Uninstall. 

2. Open the App Store/Play Store and reinstall Instagram. 

3. Log back in and try tagging again. 

With the help of these solutions, you can get an answer to your question “Why can’t I tag someone on Instagram?” 

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