Marketing

December 19, 2025, 4:00 PM EST. Instagram is imposing a universal limit of five hashtags per post and reel, after testing shorter caps to curb spam and misuse. The change reflects the platform's view that hashtags no longer drive discovery as strongly as AI algorithms and relevance-based sorting, though targeted tags can still guide users to related content. The update follows a broader stance seen in Threads, where tag usage is even more restricted. Adam Mosseri has repeatedly said that hashtags don't meaningfully boost reach, even as creators note some value for topic signaling. The move aims to improve user experience while reducing misuse across the app.