If you’re an avid user of Meta-owned Instagram then we’re sure you’re familiar with discovering new content with the help of the app's Following Hashtags feature.
So many of us can easily find what we’re looking for with hashtags as it saves time and effort and gives you just what you’re in search of. But wait, we may have spoken too soon as the app is getting rid of its Following Hashtags feature as early as December 17 this year.
The news was confirmed by several users on the platform. The post talks about how any user following a certain hashtag will no longer see it visible on the feed. You won’t also be able to follow any more hashtags either.
Over the years, spammers have exploited trending hashtags, attaching irrelevant or low-quality content to popular tags to gain exposure. Despite Instagram's filtering tools, many users still reported seeing irrelevant posts in their feeds. This change will prevent hashtag spam from infiltrating the main feed, but users may still encounter it in Explore feeds and search results.
Interestingly, the shift also reflects a broader trend where hashtags are becoming less crucial for some school of thoughts in marketing and business circles as well as consumer side. As Instagram’s algorithms have become more advanced at understanding content, context, and user interest, the reliance on hashtags to surface relevant posts has decreased. The platform is now able to recommend content based on what users engage with, even without specific hashtags.
Additionally, this move might push users to follow creators directly, further enhancing Instagram’s efforts to keep creators engaged and active on the platform. While hashtags will still be used for content discovery, they no longer play as central a role as they once did.
It’s not the best news for many Instagram fans who were quick to express their dismay on the matter, while others questioned the motive of doing so.
On the user end, seeing their feedback shows how upset they are about the change. Many feel it’s getting rid of creativity and a very useful endeavor.
Update, short Instagram statement: "We’re taking away the ability to follow hashtags on Instagram. Users will still be able to include hashtags in their posts and use them to search for related content. To keep your experience relevant, we’ll recommend posts aligned with users interests in Feed, Explore, and Reels."
Image: RetroriotReads / IG
This post was last updated on December 3rd, 2024.
Read next: Meta Adds New Custom Feeds Feature To Threads As Competition With Bluesky Heats Up
So many of us can easily find what we’re looking for with hashtags as it saves time and effort and gives you just what you’re in search of. But wait, we may have spoken too soon as the app is getting rid of its Following Hashtags feature as early as December 17 this year.
The news was confirmed by several users on the platform. The post talks about how any user following a certain hashtag will no longer see it visible on the feed. You won’t also be able to follow any more hashtags either.
Why Is Instagram Removing Following Hashtags Feature
Instagram's decision to remove the Follow Hashtags feature seems to be part of an ongoing effort to tackle hashtag spam.Over the years, spammers have exploited trending hashtags, attaching irrelevant or low-quality content to popular tags to gain exposure. Despite Instagram's filtering tools, many users still reported seeing irrelevant posts in their feeds. This change will prevent hashtag spam from infiltrating the main feed, but users may still encounter it in Explore feeds and search results.
Interestingly, the shift also reflects a broader trend where hashtags are becoming less crucial for some school of thoughts in marketing and business circles as well as consumer side. As Instagram’s algorithms have become more advanced at understanding content, context, and user interest, the reliance on hashtags to surface relevant posts has decreased. The platform is now able to recommend content based on what users engage with, even without specific hashtags.
Additionally, this move might push users to follow creators directly, further enhancing Instagram’s efforts to keep creators engaged and active on the platform. While hashtags will still be used for content discovery, they no longer play as central a role as they once did.
It’s not the best news for many Instagram fans who were quick to express their dismay on the matter, while others questioned the motive of doing so.
While no insider information is available about the departure of Instagram's Hashtag Follow feature, there’s room for speculation. The feature, launched on December 12, 2017, was a groundbreaking step that allowed users to follow hashtags and personalize their feed. Now, almost seven years later, Meta has decided to retire it, signaling the platform's shift toward maturity and advanced AI-powered discovery.
It appears that the sunset of this feature aligns with Meta's reliance on its AI-powered discovery engine. This advanced engine aggregates signals from various sources to recommend content tailored to user interests, reducing the need for hashtags in delivering relevant posts.
Interestingly, this trend reflects a broader move across social media, where most content shown in feeds today is suggested from accounts users do not follow. While this may seem unsettling to some, it offers significant advantages—new users or businesses can discover your content more effectively.
Meta’s AI-driven discovery model takes inspiration from TikTok's "Suggested for You" approach, a feature that has been pivotal to TikTok's success. Despite the significant change, Instagram has not addressed the departure of Following Hashtags on its official help center pages. Users have only been informed via in-app notifications.
In discussions with industry experts, we concluded that removing the Following Hashtags feature might push users and businesses to rely less on organic content discovery and more on paid promotions and advertising to increase visibility. This shift aligns well with Meta's bottom line. With reduced organic reach through hashtags, businesses may increasingly turn to Instagram's advertising tools for content discovery.
In discussions with industry experts, we concluded that removing the Following Hashtags feature might push users and businesses to rely less on organic content discovery and more on paid promotions and advertising to increase visibility. This shift aligns well with Meta's bottom line. With reduced organic reach through hashtags, businesses may increasingly turn to Instagram's advertising tools for content discovery.
On the user end, seeing their feedback shows how upset they are about the change. Many feel it’s getting rid of creativity and a very useful endeavor.
Update, short Instagram statement: "We’re taking away the ability to follow hashtags on Instagram. Users will still be able to include hashtags in their posts and use them to search for related content. To keep your experience relevant, we’ll recommend posts aligned with users interests in Feed, Explore, and Reels."
Is Instagram getting rid of hashtags completely?
No, Instagram is not completely removing hashtags. The platform will still allow users to use hashtags for content discovery in posts and search results. The main change is the removal of the ability to follow specific hashtags, meaning users will no longer see posts from those hashtags in their feed. Instagram is aiming to reduce spam and irrelevant content in users' main feeds, but hashtags remain relevant for categorizing content and aiding discovery, especially in Explore sections.
This post was last updated on December 3rd, 2024.
Read next: Meta Adds New Custom Feeds Feature To Threads As Competition With Bluesky Heats Up
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Instagram punishes its users, period. There is no practical way to search for topics. If you like a feature, kiss it goodbye. Tag a few people, use a few hashmarks, you'll get suspended. It's the only platform I've seen that punishes you for using it. You know what they really hate? Companies doing giveaways on Instagram. OK, it's their platform, they can hate what they want. But instead of just telling companies they can't do giveaways, they program their AI gestapo to suspend countless users constantly for entering them. Ass backwards.
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