Contacts
Tags
Private, coloured labels for sorting contacts — how they differ from lists, and how to create, apply and delete them.
# Tags Tags are private labels for your own sorting. Contacts never see them. Use a tag for anything you want to group people by — *Webinar attendee*, *VIP*, *Asked for a demo* — without building a segment. ## Tags or lists? | | Tags | [Lists](/contacts/lists/) | |---|---|---| | What it is | An internal label | Something people subscribe to | | Seen by the contact | Never | When the list is shown on the preference page | | Removing someone | The tag is deleted from them | They are marked unsubscribed from it, and the history is kept | | Colour | Yes | No | | Own double opt-in email | No | Optional | If a contact should be able to leave it, make it a list. If it is a note to yourself, make it a tag. ## The tags screen Go to **Contacts → Tags**. Each tag shows its colour, its **Name**, how many **Contacts** carry it, and when it was **Created**. Search with **Search tags…**, and sort by name.  Choose a tag's name or its count to open the contacts table filtered to that tag. The row menu offers **View contacts**, **Edit** and **Delete**. ## Creating a tag 1. Choose **New tag**. 2. Enter a **Name**. The **Slug** fills itself in from the name; change it now if you want a different one, because it **cannot be changed after saving**. 3. Pick a **Colour** from the presets, or choose your own. 4. Choose **Add**. You can also create a tag wherever you choose tags — in a contact's header, in the **New contact** form, or in the import options — by typing a name that does not exist yet. Tags named in a tags column of an imported CSV are created for you too. ## Applying tags - **One contact:** on their record, use **Add tags** in the header, or the **Tags** field in **Edit**. - **Many contacts:** tick them in the contacts table and choose **Add tags** or **Remove tags** in the bulk bar. - **Everyone in an import:** choose tags under **Add tags** in the import options. - **Automatically:** the automation steps **Add a tag** and **Remove a tag**, and the triggers **Tag is added** and **Tag is removed**. ## Where tags are used - Filtering the contacts table, and as a condition in [segments](/contacts/segments/). - Choosing who a campaign goes to, or who to leave out. - Starting automations, and checking for a tag inside one. ## Editing and deleting **Edit** lets you rename a tag or change its colour. The slug stays as it was. **Delete** removes the tag from every contact. The contacts themselves are untouched. To delete several at once, tick them and choose **Delete** in the bulk bar. :::caution A deleted tag cannot be restored. Automations or segments that relied on it no longer match anyone through it. :::Tags are private labels for your own sorting. Contacts never see them. Use a tag for anything you want to group people by — Webinar attendee, VIP, Asked for a demo — without building a segment.
Tags or lists?
Section titled “Tags or lists?”| Tags | Lists | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An internal label | Something people subscribe to |
| Seen by the contact | Never | When the list is shown on the preference page |
| Removing someone | The tag is deleted from them | They are marked unsubscribed from it, and the history is kept |
| Colour | Yes | No |
| Own double opt-in email | No | Optional |
If a contact should be able to leave it, make it a list. If it is a note to yourself, make it a tag.
The tags screen
Section titled “The tags screen”Go to Contacts → Tags. Each tag shows its colour, its Name, how many Contacts carry it, and when it was Created. Search with Search tags…, and sort by name.
Choose a tag’s name or its count to open the contacts table filtered to that tag. The row menu offers View contacts, Edit and Delete.
Creating a tag
Section titled “Creating a tag”- Choose New tag.
- Enter a Name. The Slug fills itself in from the name; change it now if you want a different one, because it cannot be changed after saving.
- Pick a Colour from the presets, or choose your own.
- Choose Add.
You can also create a tag wherever you choose tags — in a contact’s header, in the New contact form, or in the import options — by typing a name that does not exist yet. Tags named in a tags column of an imported CSV are created for you too.
Applying tags
Section titled “Applying tags”- One contact: on their record, use Add tags in the header, or the Tags field in Edit.
- Many contacts: tick them in the contacts table and choose Add tags or Remove tags in the bulk bar.
- Everyone in an import: choose tags under Add tags in the import options.
- Automatically: the automation steps Add a tag and Remove a tag, and the triggers Tag is added and Tag is removed.
Where tags are used
Section titled “Where tags are used”- Filtering the contacts table, and as a condition in segments.
- Choosing who a campaign goes to, or who to leave out.
- Starting automations, and checking for a tag inside one.
Editing and deleting
Section titled “Editing and deleting”Edit lets you rename a tag or change its colour. The slug stays as it was.
Delete removes the tag from every contact. The contacts themselves are untouched. To delete several at once, tick them and choose Delete in the bulk bar.