Hashtags Are Dead 💀

Once a powerful tool for discovery and growth, Instagram hashtags have lost their edge. Here’s why — and what matters now.

Remember When Hashtags Worked?

There was a time when slapping #sunset or #ootd on your Instagram post could rocket it to a whole new audience. Hashtags were discovery tools, growth engines, and the cornerstone of any semi-serious content strategy.

But those days are over.

The Decline of the Hashtag

Instagram’s algorithm has changed — and so has the way people use the platform.

• Explore and Reels dominate discovery now. The algorithm serves content based on behaviour, not tags.
• Captions are now searchable. Instagram quietly introduced keyword search that doesn’t require a hashtag to find relevant content.
• Shadowbans and spam have devalued tags. Users recycling the same hashtags across posts, or using banned ones unknowingly, often see their reach drop.
• Hashtags feel dated. They’re more likely to be ignored than clicked.

Even Instagram’s CEO, Adam Mosseri, confirmed this in a recent conversation with Marques Brownlee:

“Hashtags help us understand what a post is about, but they don’t directly increase distribution.”

In short: they’re categorisation tools — not growth levers.

A Brief History of the Hashtag

Hashtags weren’t invented by social media platforms — they were adopted from earlier internet culture.

• In the 1980s, the # symbol was used in IRC (Internet Relay Chat) to mark topic channels, like #music or #news.
• In 2007, tech evangelist Chris Messina suggested using the hash symbol for Twitter groups. His idea was ignored by Twitter at first, but users embraced it. By 2009, hashtags became clickable links.
• Through the 2010s, hashtags became social currency. On Instagram, they were essential for discovery, and entire growth strategies were built around selecting the perfect 30 tags.
• Today, the hashtag is more meme than method — useful as cultural shorthand (#throwback, #blessed, #mood), but no longer effective for growing an audience.

What to Do Instead

If hashtags no longer move the needle, what should you focus on?

• Keyword-rich captions. These are now indexed by Instagram’s search — and they look less spammy.
• Alt text. Not just for accessibility; it can give your posts an SEO boost.
• Engaging content formats. Reels, stories, and carousels are prioritised over single-image posts.
• Community interaction. Responding to DMs and comments plays a bigger role in getting your content seen.
• Consistency. The algorithm favours creators who show up regularly — not just virally.

Should You Use Them at All?

They’re not useless — but they’re not magic, either. Here’s how to use them wisely:

• Stick to 3–5 relevant tags per post.
• Avoid banned or overused tags — they can do more harm than good.
• Prioritise brand-specific or niche tags over generic ones like #love or #photooftheday.

Final Thoughts

Hashtags once helped shape the way we navigated social platforms. But today, they’re more legacy than leverage. If you’re still treating hashtags as your main tactic for visibility on Instagram, you’re likely wasting time — and missing the real opportunities.

It’s not about playing the algorithm — it’s about understanding where attention is actually going.