Threads rolls out its hashtags without the hash symbol globally

Image credits: Topics

Meta’s Threads social network received a major update on Thursday as the company began rolling out tags (without the pound symbol) across the platform. Users will only be able to tag one topic per post to avoid tag spam.

The company began testing the beacon feature in Australia last monthand it is now deploying beacons around the world.

Unlike hashtags, people can use a phrase containing a space as well as special characters. Users can click a tag in a post to open all posts in search view.

You can simply type the tag in the search bar to view all posts with that tag. However, you may see that some articles containing this phrase don’t use tags either. You can still create a hashtag if you want, but you will need to manually add hashtags to the post in the composer.

In a post, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the company hoped this design would lead to less engagement hacking.

Notably, the Threads app does not yet have a trending section. But when you tap the tag button, you might see some popular tags that you can easily add.

You can report a topic if you find it insensitive. Reporting categories include spam, bullying or harassment, scam or fraud, eating disorders, and hate speech and symbols. A few users said that they received warnings about the sensitivity of certain tags because they had been flagged previously. It is unclear what the threshold is at which Threads enables the popup for sensitive tags.

As my colleague Sarah Perez noted in his story last month, there is also a problem with filling similar hashtags. With a limit of one tag per post, your post may not reach the audience searching for another tag. For example, there are currently several tags for NBA, including NBAThread, NBA Threads, and NBA.

Last month, Threads expanded its search functionality to “all languages” in all countries where the application is available. The company is also reportedly set to launch Discussions in the EU in compliance with regional regulations.

Earlier this month, app analytics company Apptopia said that Daily Threads downloads have recovered after a decline in recent months.