New Hashtag Policy
Instagram has unveiled a significant change on its platform: users can only add up to five hashtags on Reels or regular posts. This reduced limit of five hashtags replaces the former maximum of 30 hashtags in an attempt to decrease spam and make the content more relevant to the users on the app.
Reason for the Change
Instagram claims that using too many or too broad hashtags will not significantly increase the content’s performance and may even result in less post-discovery. The company believes that fewer and more targeted hashtags allow the algorithm to better understand the content and identify the users who will be most interested in that topic.
Instagram has also indicated that general tags like #reels or #explore are hardly helpful in extending content reach and discovery. Thus, creators have to pick the most relevant hashtags that accurately reflect their content.
Official Announcement and Rollout
The limit of the number of hashtags was signaled through Instagram’s official Creators account. In some brief experiments, the number of allowed hashtags was thought to be three, but now the final decision states that one can put up to five hashtags in each post or Reel.
The change coming will be felt by all the users worldwide and will include anyone tweeting or posting pictures — not only those who are blogging professionally or brands.
Impact on Content Discovery
Instagram’s move is in line with the company’s other measures to put more weight on real interaction instead of tricking the algorithm. The firm hopes that by cutting down the hashtag use, it will be easier for trends to catch on and for users to get content that matches their interests.
Artists who use hashtags to find people who will follow them or view their content should come up with new ways to do this, by choosing highly specific tags that fit their field or topic.
Historical Context
Hashtags are one of the features that have existed on Instagram since 2011 and have been the primary means for posts to get indexed in searches for topics and recommendation feeds. Nevertheless, Instagram’s recommendation systems and feeds have undergone changes, and now they rely less on the number of hashtags and more on content relevance and user behavior.
User Reactions and Trends
At the outset, reactions to the change made Instagram hashtag usage a topic of discussion on various social media platforms. Some content makers are delighted with the abbreviated hashtag strategy, while others think that less hashtag usage makes it more difficult for niche content to be discovered. Instagram is still gathering feedback and might adjust the role of hashtags in the coming updates.
