#Dead: Why Hashtags Don’t Matter Anymore

Instagram has finally admitted what many of us suspected: hashtags don’t boost reach anymore. They’re just labels. Categories. A way to file posts neatly into digital drawers.

Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s head, confirmed it himself. Hashtags no longer drive followers or visibility. And if you’d been paying attention, the signs were there all along—Instagram quietly removed the ability to follow hashtags earlier this year.

So, let’s call it: the hashtag era is over.

That’s not bad news. It’s liberation.

For years, people treated hashtags like magical growth hacks. Sprinkle on a dozen “#growth #hustle #life” tags and—bam—your post was meant to go viral. Except it didn’t. It looked desperate. Cluttered. Forced.

Now, Instagram is saying out loud what the algorithm has already been enforcing: what matters is content people care about. Not hacks. Not tags.

What does that mean?

• Write captions like headlines. Think search, not stuffing.

• Prioritise engagement—comments, saves, shares—over brute force posting.

• Make things that stop the scroll: strong visuals, short videos, interactivity.

• Use hashtags sparingly. A pinch adds flavour. A marinade ruins the meal.

And outside Instagram? Hashtags are limping along.

• LinkedIn: 3–5 thoughtful tags still help with discoverability.

• Twitter (sorry, “X”): even Musk says “just use words”.

• TikTok: trends are real, but keywords matter more.

• Facebook: hashtags are garnish, not growth.

The takeaway is simple: hashtags were always a shortcut. Shortcuts rarely last.

If you want reach, make something worth reaching.

If you want followers, write for people, not for algorithms.

And if you still want to use #ThrowbackThursday for nostalgia’s sake, go ahead. Just don’t expect it to change your business.