Tagging your friends, acquaintances or family online is a great way to get their attention to something that clearly interests you and you also want them to be interested in it, or for the person you tag to experience the same emotion while watching the content. Most social networks and services allow their users to tag someone in the comments, for example on Instagram. As for YouTube, there, you can mark a person only by replying to his comment.
While this has almost the same effect as tagging someone, the disadvantage is that you can’t do it if the other person has already commented. Anyway, the main thing is that tagging someone in comments on YouTube is possible, and here is how to do it.
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Why is there no direct tagging option on YouTube
Since Google acquired Youtube 15 years ago, the platform has evolved into the world’s largest video search engine. During that time, YouTube has constantly changed both its interface and its features to make it more user-friendly and easier for users by navigating.
Earlier, one significant change was the ability to tag another user in a comment, which was integrated from the Google+ social media platform that Google once owned and managed. This means that by tagging other users in the comments section, you are tagging their Google+ profile. However, Google+ had a low percentage of user engagement. So Google was forced to close the consumer version of Google+ in March 2019. This means that YouTube’s Google+-based features also suffered, as did the tagging feature.
That’s why you can’t directly mention your friends or random people in the comments on YouTube to let them know you want them to watch an interesting video. However, you can still make a kind of “tagging” on YouTube by replying to the user in the comment thread or by mentioning them in the title and description of your video.
How to tag someone on YouTube by replying to a comment on desktop
If you want to tag someone from your friends or family on YouTube by replying to a comment on the desktop version of YouTube, you have to follow these steps:
- First of all, opent the YouTube website on your Mac or PC.
- Then, sign in to your Google account if needed.
- Go to the video you want to tag someone in.
- Search for the comment you want to reply to and click “Reply” under this comment.
- After that, just add your message to the text box and click the “Reply” button again.
How to tag someone on YouTube by replying to a comment on mobile device
If you want to tag someone from your friends or family on YouTube by replying to a comment on the YouTube mobile app, you have to follow these steps:
- Open the YouTube app on your iOS or Android device.
- Go to the video you want to tag someone in and find a comment that you want to reply to.
- Then, tap the reply icon under the desired comment and type in your message into the text box.
- Finally, post your comment by tapping on the “Send” icon.
