Flickr considers removing opt out option from auto-tagging after user criticism

Yahoo owned photo-sharing site Flickr has come under criticism after the site's new 'auto-tagging' feature was enabled and that there was no opt-out option provided.

According to the TechCrunch web site, Flickr had recently rolled out a series of upgrades to its service on the web and on mobile designed to make every aspect of photo editing, organization and sharing easier on its service. A couple of the more notable changes were the addition of auto-tagging and new image-recognition capabilities.

Judging by the forum's many comments and with over a thousand replies to the official Flickr post, for many Flickr users tags are something they still feel strongly about. These users have been criticizing addition of auto-tagging. Many of those commenting have actually been fairly thorough about their tags over the years and do not like that Flickr is now adding its own tags to their photos.

Also, many users also complain that Flickr's auto-tags simply aren't that accurate.

Flickr doesn't offer an option to disable the auto-tagging and the only option is for users to edit a group of incorrectly tagged photos or remove the tags they do not like.

Flickr said that it is taking the community feedback seriously and is evaluating an option that would allow an opt-out of the automated tagging. The option is not yet being built, but it is being actively discussed.

The company also said that auto-tagging is crucial part to the upgraded service, as it powers a number of the new features, including the 'Magic View,' which helps users organize and share their photos based on topic, as well as the new search tools and other future features still in the works. That is why Flickr felt strongly enough about auto-tagging to not make it an opt-in option in the first pace, as well as no off switch for the time being.