• by Colin Kirkland , August 21, 2025

As more social media platforms revise their views on hashtags, TikTok has begun to warn frequent users who attempt to upload a video on the platform that they can only use up to five hashtags per post. 

“Maximum 5 hashtags,” the warning reads. “Use accurate hashtags to get more views.”

TikTok analyzes hashtags to understand which topics are trending and amassing engagement in the app -- prompting new features, in-app hubs, and future partnerships with sports leagues, companies, artists, media networks and teams.

But in terms of brand and creator use, hashtags have become less effective for targeting as fewer users manually search with tags due to the progression of AI systems and recommendation algorithms.

TikTok has yet to issue a statement explaining the hashtag limit prompt, but when a Reddit user asked TikTok’s AI chat about the change, it replied that the company is aiming “to improve the user experience by reducing the number of hashtags that appear in the caption, making it easier for viewers to focus on the content.”

“While hashtags are essential for discoverability, it’s crucial to use them strategically and not overload your posts,” TikTok's AI chat added. 

TikTok’s automated answer mimics X’s recent decision to remove hashtags from ads altogether.

Having referred to hashtags as “an aesthetic nightmare,” X owner Elon Musk announced a vague revamp of the platform’s ad formats late last month, cutting hashtags, emojis and other “unnecessary clutter or distractions” from paid promotions.

Last year, LinkedIn also issued a reminder to users that hashtags are only useful when they relate closely to the topic of the post, but are not essential in expanding post reach. Instagram, too, is testing a five hashtag limit for posts, following leader Adam Mosseri’s comment from 2022 that hashtags don’t help amass views.