diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index dc1e9553..eb6dc107 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -11,12 +11,12 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/).
 - [ ] KML upload
 - [ ] OIDC login with Authentik
   - [ ] How does it work with existing settings to disable registrations?
-- [ ] Place creation
-- [ ] Tag creation + management
-- [ ] Place privacy zones
-- [ ] Settings panel is scrollable
+- [x] Place creation
+- [x] Tag creation + management
+- [x] Place privacy zones
+- [x] Settings panel is scrollable
 - [ ] Family members can enable their location sharing and see each other on the map
-- [ ] Home location
+- [x] Home location
 
 # OIDC and KML support release
 
diff --git a/app/helpers/tags_helper.rb b/app/helpers/tags_helper.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..de5150dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/helpers/tags_helper.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+module TagsHelper
+  COMMON_TAG_EMOJIS = %w[
+    🏠 🏢 🏫 🏥 🏪 🏨 🏦 🏛️ 🏟️ 🏖️
+    ⛪ 🕌 🕍 ⛩️ 🗼 🗽 🗿 💒 🏰 🏯
+    🍕 🍔 🍟 🍣 🍱 🍜 🍝 🍛 🥘 🍲
+    ☕ 🍺 🍷 🥂 🍹 🍸 🥃 🍻 🥤 🧃
+    🏃 ⚽ 🏀 🏈 ⚾ 🎾 🏐 🏓 🏸 🏒
+    🚗 🚕 🚙 🚌 🚎 🏎️ 🚓 🚑 🚒 🚐
+    ✈️ 🚁 ⛵ 🚤 🛥️ ⛴️ 🚂 🚆 🚇 🚊
+    🎭 🎪 🎨 🎬 🎤 🎧 🎼 🎹 🎸 🎺
+    📚 📖 ✏️ 🖊️ 📝 📋 📌 📍 🗺️ 🧭
+    💼 👔 🎓 🏆 🎯 🎲 🎮 🎰 🛍️ 💍
+  ].freeze
+
+  def random_tag_emoji
+    COMMON_TAG_EMOJIS.sample
+  end
+end
diff --git a/app/javascript/controllers/maps_controller.js b/app/javascript/controllers/maps_controller.js
index 51449c8d..49a8652b 100644
--- a/app/javascript/controllers/maps_controller.js
+++ b/app/javascript/controllers/maps_controller.js
@@ -766,6 +766,12 @@ export default class extends BaseController {
   }
 
   saveEnabledLayers() {
+    // Don't save if we're restoring layers from settings
+    if (this.isRestoringLayers) {
+      console.log('[saveEnabledLayers] Skipping save - currently restoring layers from settings');
+      return;
+    }
+
     const enabledLayers = [];
 
     // Iterate through all layers on the map to determine which are enabled
@@ -798,6 +804,8 @@ export default class extends BaseController {
           enabledLayers.push(`place_tag:${layer._placeTagId}`);
         }
       });
+    } else {
+      console.warn('[saveEnabledLayers] placesFilteredLayers is not initialized');
     }
 
     fetch('/api/v1/settings', {
@@ -1777,8 +1785,12 @@ export default class extends BaseController {
     });
 
     // Handle place tag layers (format: "place_tag:ID" or "place_tag:untagged")
-    enabledLayers.forEach(layerKey => {
-      if (layerKey.startsWith('place_tag:')) {
+    const placeTagLayers = enabledLayers.filter(key => key.startsWith('place_tag:'));
+    if (placeTagLayers.length > 0) {
+      // Set flag once before restoring all place tag layers
+      this.isRestoringLayers = true;
+
+      placeTagLayers.forEach(layerKey => {
         const tagId = layerKey.replace('place_tag:', '');
         let layer;
 
@@ -1792,19 +1804,23 @@ export default class extends BaseController {
         }
 
         if (layer && !this.map.hasLayer(layer)) {
-          this.isRestoringLayers = true;
           layer.addTo(this.map);
           console.log(`Enabled place tag layer: ${tagId}`);
-          setTimeout(() => { this.isRestoringLayers = false; }, 100);
         }
-      }
-    });
+      });
+
+      // Reset flag after all layers have been added and events processed
+      setTimeout(() => {
+        this.isRestoringLayers = false;
+        console.log('[initializeLayersFromSettings] Finished restoring place tag layers');
+      }, 150);
+    }
 
     // Update the tree control checkboxes to reflect the layer states
     // Wait a bit for the tree control to be fully initialized
     setTimeout(() => {
       this.updateTreeControlCheckboxes(enabledLayers);
-    }, 100);
+    }, 200);
   }
 
   updateTreeControlCheckboxes(enabledLayers) {
diff --git a/app/javascript/maps/places.js b/app/javascript/maps/places.js
index 2a221536..2496bc8f 100644
--- a/app/javascript/maps/places.js
+++ b/app/javascript/maps/places.js
@@ -349,9 +349,21 @@ export class PlacesManager {
         const label = input.closest('label') || input.nextElementSibling;
         if (label && label.textContent.trim() === 'Places') {
           if (!input.checked) {
+            // Set a flag to prevent saving during programmatic layer addition
+            if (window.mapsController) {
+              window.mapsController.isRestoringLayers = true;
+            }
+
             input.checked = true;
             input.dispatchEvent(new Event('change', { bubbles: true }));
             console.log('Enabled Places layer in tree control');
+
+            // Reset the flag after a short delay to allow the event to process
+            setTimeout(() => {
+              if (window.mapsController) {
+                window.mapsController.isRestoringLayers = false;
+              }
+            }, 50);
           }
         }
       });
diff --git a/app/views/tags/_form.html.erb b/app/views/tags/_form.html.erb
index 8f35a923..ef71bdc5 100644
--- a/app/views/tags/_form.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/tags/_form.html.erb
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
   <div class="grid grid-cols-2 gap-4">
     <!-- Emoji Picker -->
+    <% default_emoji = tag.icon.presence || (tag.new_record? ? random_tag_emoji : '🏠') %>
     <div class="form-control" data-controller="emoji-picker" data-emoji-picker-auto-submit-value="false">
       <%= f.label :icon, class: "label" %>
       <div class="relative w-full">
@@ -27,8 +28,8 @@
                 class="input input-bordered w-full flex items-center justify-center text-4xl cursor-pointer hover:bg-base-200 min-h-[4rem]"
                 data-action="click->emoji-picker#toggle"
                 data-emoji-picker-target="button"
-                data-default-icon="🏠">
-          <span data-emoji-picker-display><%= tag.icon.presence || '🏠' %></span>
+                data-default-icon="<%= default_emoji %>">
+          <span data-emoji-picker-display><%= default_emoji %></span>
         </button>
 
         <!-- Picker container -->
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@
              class="hidden absolute z-50 mt-2 left-0"></div>
 
         <!-- Hidden input for form submission -->
-        <%= f.hidden_field :icon, data: { emoji_picker_target: "input" } %>
+        <%= f.hidden_field :icon, value: default_emoji, data: { emoji_picker_target: "input" } %>
       </div>
       <label class="label">
         <span class="label-text-alt">Click to select an emoji</span>
@@ -134,7 +135,7 @@
           <span>5000m</span>
         </div>
         <%= f.hidden_field :privacy_radius_meters,
-            value: tag.privacy_radius_meters || 1000,
+            value: tag.privacy_radius_meters,
             data: { privacy_radius_target: "field" } %>
       </div>
       <label class="label">