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.
If you remember, Instagram also raised eyebrows last year in September when its chief Adam Mosseri went live to confirm that the app was testing removing the chance to see new posts published under hashtags for a year. The platform felt this would give users more access to content that was better suited to their liking. It also claimed that the move was done to remove spam and abuse that was growing on the platform.
For now, we’re not quite sure what the motive behind this new change could be but one thing is for sure. Seeing user feedback from now shows how upset they are about the change. Many feel it’s getting rid of creativity and a very useful endeavor. What do you think?
Image: retroriotreads / IG
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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.
If you remember, Instagram also raised eyebrows last year in September when its chief Adam Mosseri went live to confirm that the app was testing removing the chance to see new posts published under hashtags for a year. The platform felt this would give users more access to content that was better suited to their liking. It also claimed that the move was done to remove spam and abuse that was growing on the platform.
For now, we’re not quite sure what the motive behind this new change could be but one thing is for sure. Seeing user feedback from now shows how upset they are about the change. Many feel it’s getting rid of creativity and a very useful endeavor. What do you think?
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.
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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