Instagram Removes the Option to Follow Hashtags: What It Means for Creators & Brands

Instagram just quietly killed one of its oldest discovery tools: following hashtags.

Starting December 13, 2024, users can no longer follow hashtags on Instagram. Any tags you previously followed stopped showing up in your main feed, and the option to follow new hashtags was removed.

Hashtags themselves are not gone — you can still add them to posts and search them — but this update is a clear signal: Instagram wants discovery to be driven less by hashtags and more by its recommendation algorithms.

For creators, brands, and social media managers, this raises a big question: how do you get discovered now?

Let’s break down what changed, why Instagram did it, and how to adapt your strategy.

What exactly changed with hashtag following?

When Instagram first rolled out hashtag following in 2017, you could:

• Tap “Follow” on a hashtag (e.g. #cocktails, #parisfood, #fitnessmotivation)
• See selected posts and Reels using that hashtag inside your main feed, mixed with content from accounts you follow

As of December 13, 2024:

• You cannot follow hashtags anymore
• Any hashtags you already followed no longer inject posts into your home feed
• New users will not see the “Follow hashtag” option at all

You may still see notifications or screenshots referencing this rollout (“Following hashtags won’t be possible soon…”), but the change is now live and permanent.

Why did Instagram remove hashtag following?

There are two main reasons behind this update, based on Instagram’s statements and industry analysis:

1. Fighting spam and irrelevant content

Hashtags were heavily abused:

• Spammers stuffed trending tags onto irrelevant or low-quality posts
• Users who followed broad hashtags like #travel or #art often saw off-topic or misleading content
• Complaints about “junk posts” in hashtag-based feeds were common

By removing hashtag following, Instagram eliminates one of the easiest ways for spam to reach the home feed.

2. Leaning into AI-powered recommendations

Instagram has been clear for a while that hashtags are not a magic growth hack and that focusing on content quality and user intent matters more.

At the same time, Meta is investing heavily in:

• AI-driven recommendations in Feed, Explore and Reels
• New controls like “Your Algorithm”, which show users the topics the AI thinks they care about and lets them tune those choices

That’s the real direction: less “I follow this hashtag, show me everything tagged with it” and more “Instagram predicts what I’ll like based on my behaviour and interests.”

What hasn’t changed: how hashtags still work in 2025

The removal of hashtag following doesn’t mean hashtags are dead.

You can still:

• Add hashtags to your posts and Reels
• Search using # in the search bar
• Use hashtags to categorise content and help people who actively search those tags find you

What’s changed is the role of hashtags:

• They’re now supporting signals for discovery, not the main engine
• You won’t get passive reach just because thousands of people followed #yourhashtag
• Your content still needs to be engagement-worthy to show up in Explore, Reels, and suggested posts, regardless of tags

In other words: think of hashtags as metadata and search terms, not a distribution channel.

How this affects creators and brands

If you’ve been using Instagram for a while, you’ve probably relied on hashtag following in at least one of these ways:

• Branded or community hashtags
  • e.g. #superfinebar, #madeinparis, #clientnamechallenge
  • You encouraged people to follow the hashtag for updates or user-generated content.
• Niche interest discovery
  • You followed tags like #mixology, #etsyshop, #instagrammarketing to find new accounts and trends.
• Campaign or contest submissions
  • People posted with a specific hashtag to submit entries; you followed the tag to watch everything roll in.

With the follow feature gone:

• People won’t passively see posts from those hashtags in their feed anymore
• Branded hashtags become more about searchability and archiving than push distribution
• You need to build discovery on recommendations, collabs, and direct engagement instead of hoping hashtag follows will do the work

Expect:

• Short-term drops in reach if you were overly reliant on hashtag follows
• Long-term gains if you adapt quickly and lean into the algorithm and real engagement

So… how do you get discovered without hashtag following?

Here’s where you redirect your energy.

1. Focus on “saveable” and “shareable” content

Multiple analyses of the Instagram algorithm now agree that saves and shares matter more than raw likes.

Ask yourself for each post or Reel:

• Would someone save this to come back later?
• Would someone send it to a friend?

Formats that tend to perform well:

• Step-by-step tutorials
• Checklists and “recipes” (content, workouts, cocktails, marketing plans)
• Strong POV / educational carousels
• High-value “before vs after” transformations

2. Make captions keyword-rich (for search, not just hashtags)

With Instagram leaning more into keyword-based search and topic detection, your actual text matters more than a block of tags.

Smart moves:

• Use phrases your ideal audience would actually type (e.g. “Paris cocktail bar open late”, “how to automate Instagram DMs”).
• Describe what’s in the post in plain language.
• Sprinkle 3–8 relevant hashtags instead of 30 random ones — think of them as supporting keywords.

3. Double down on Reels, Explore and Recommendations

Since following hashtags is gone, Instagram’s recommendation systems are the main path to new eyeballs.

That means:

• Consistent, on-topic Reels that match your niche
• Clear hooks, fast pacing, and strong storytelling
• Using native features (captions, stickers, music) to signal context

If someone watches your Reel, saves it, shares it, or checks your profile, that’s a strong signal that feeds more recommendations — not “oh, they followed your hashtag once.”

4. Build owned audiences via DMs and email

Without hashtag follow feeds, you can’t rely on Instagram to push your content to casual hashtag followers anymore.

So you want to:

• Turn engagers into contacts (DM, email, SMS)
• Run DM-based funnels (lead magnets, waitlists, low-ticket offers)
• Tag and segment people so you can re-engage them directly

This is where Inrō comes in: it turns comments, Story replies, and DMs into structured conversations and segments, so you’re not at the mercy of every algorithm change.

What to do with your existing hashtag strategy

Here’s a practical checklist:

1. Audit your top hashtags
   • Which ones actually bring meaningful traffic (profile visits, follows, DMs, sales)?
   • Keep those; drop generic mega-tags you used “just because.”
2. Update your content templates
   • Move from “caption + 30 hashtags” to “caption with strong keyword phrases + 5–10 targeted hashtags.”
3. Educate your community
   • If you’ve pushed people to “follow our hashtag,” switch CTAs to:
     • “Turn on notifications”
     • “Join our broadcast channel”
     • “DM us the keyword X and we’ll send you [resource].”
4. Use DMs as your new subscription layer
   • Comments → DM
   • Stories → DM
   • Lives → DM
   • Each keyword or reaction can trigger a flow in Inrō and add people to a specific segment or campaign.

That way, whether hashtags are followable or not stops being an existential question for your visibility.

How Inrō helps you thrive in a post-hashtag-follow world

Instagram’s message with this update is pretty clear:

“Stop gaming hashtags. Start building real interactions.”

Inrō is built exactly for that reality:

• Capture every engager, automatically
  Turn likes, comments, Story replies and inbound DMs into conversations with your AI Agent.
• Run DM campaigns instead of hoping people see your posts
  Announce launches, drops, events, and content via targeted DM broadcasts, not just feed posts that may or may not be recommended.
• Segment by intent, not hashtags
  Tag people based on what they clicked, watched or asked for (LEAD-MASTERCLASS, BAR-PARIS-LOCAL, ECOM-RETARGET) and follow up differently.
• Measure what actually converts
  Track which flows, keywords and campaigns bring sign-ups, bookings, and sales — something hashtags alone never told you.

Hashtags had a good run as a free discovery hack. With hashtag following gone, your edge now comes from high-signal engagement and owned relationships — and that’s where pairing your Instagram content with Inrō’s DM automation gives you a real, compounding advantage.

Try Inrō to boost your Instagram growth and sales.

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