Since its record-breaking launch in the summer, X (formerly Twitter) rival Threads has gradually been adding new features to help users find and discover posts.
After adding an advanced search function in September, the social media app has now introduced its version of hashtags.
“Tags,” as Threads calls them, essentially work in the same way but with some notable differences.
Like hashtags, they’re designed to group conversations or content around a specific topic. That makes them useful for finding information on live events and breaking news.
Clicking on a hashtag in a tweet or an Instagram post, for instance, will show you other posts that contain the same hashtag.
However, you can add only one tag per post on Threads. By comparison, you can add up to 30 hashtags on Instagram, and as many as you like on TikTok captions as long as you stick to the character limit. The same goes for X, although the platform recommends using no more than two hashtags per post.
Why the limit? Because a barrage of hashtags or tags isn’t just an aesthetic nightmare, it also looks spammy or may come off like you’re trying to farm likes.
Also on Threads, you can add tags with spaces and even special characters. This sounds like a win as squishing together a title or phrase in hashtags can look confusing.
So, on Threads you could type out Super Mario Bros. Wonder instead of #SuperMarioBrosWonder when you mention the Nintendo Switch game. Notably, Threads has also ditched the use of the hash symbol, so all you see is a blue link.
Highlighting the changes in a Threads post, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri said: "The hope is this design focuses tags more on communities and less on engagement hacking, and does so while keeping @threads simple and easy to use."
Meanwhile, Chris Messina, who is widely credited as the inventor of the hashtag, poked fun at the different types of tags in the wild. "Frankentags vs hashtags vs "tags" cage match continues!" he said in a Threads post.
How to use tags on Threads
To add a tag to your Threads post, all you need to do is tap the new hash icon in the composer.
You'll then be able to choose from an existing topic or create your own.
Once you share your post, others will be able to tap the blue text to see more discussion on the same topic, starting with the most relevant, recent, and popular content.
Some users have noted that the feature appears to be available on Threads only for the web and not the app. We’ve contacted Threads’ parent company Meta for comment.
