What is the viral ‘beige flag’ TikTok trend?

New week, new viral TikTok trend. This time it’s beige flags, which are a lesser form of red flags in some ways. The trend has taken the app by storm in recent weeks as users all share their other half’s beige flag and we’re all invited to collectively chuckle and share our own experiences in the comments. If you have absolutely no idea what we’re talking about, don’t worry – we’re here to educate.

What’s a beige flag?

Videos riffing on the trend list traits about partners that are kind of weird or frustrating but ultimately endearing. For example, spouting random facts about irrelevant things, leaving it until the very last minute to get ready, or ripping underwear off unexpectedly. It’s almost cause for concern but not quite, sort of like a red flag but nowhere near as serious, hence the titular term.

The videos all typically feature the person who posted the video and some text explaining their partner’s peculiar habits and it’s all accompanied by some jazzy background music. Reading the weird habits of other people’s partners can definitely provide a good chuckle and it’s mostly pretty wholesome. The only issue is that none of the viral videos on TikTok actually describe real beige flags, at least, not according to the original definition.

What did beige flag originally mean?

Last year, a TikTok explaining the meaning behind beige flags garnered lots of attention from the community. The video, posted by Caitlin MacPhail, which pretty much started the whole trend, explains beige flags as traits that someone has that make them boring, dull, or uninteresting. The TikToker listed qualities that often appeared on dating profiles that suggest that the individual is overcompensating for a lack of personality. Examples like using puppies as a personality or referencing mainstream sitcoms and the like could all be taken as signs that a person is “probably very boring”. That’s why it’s a beige flag, one of the most boring colors for boring people.

While Caitlin’s original video very clearly explains the definition of beige flags, it seems that the term has lost its meaning as more and more people have hopped on the trend. Like a game of Chinese whispers, the beige flag videos you’ll find on TikTok now are all just secretly good qualities disguised as something mildly annoying.