TikTok Experiments with Five-Hashtag Limit for Users

If you’ve been posting regularly on TikTok in recent weeks, you may have noticed a new prompt appearing on-screen.

As shown in this example from user @justgee92, some creators are now being notified that TikTok has implemented a five-hashtag cap on posts, limiting the number of topic tags that can be attached to any given clip.
On reflection, this move feels logical.
As social platform algorithms have grown more sophisticated, hashtags have steadily lost some of their influence in directing reach. Today, algorithms gauge user preferences primarily through behavior and engagement, while most users also rely on feeds to surface relevant content, rather than searching manually via hashtags.
This broader trend is already reshaping the role of hashtags across the industry. X has stripped them from ads, LinkedIn has dialed back their importance in discovery, and Threads only allows a single topic tag per post. Even Instagram has tested a five-hashtag ceiling, arguing that anything beyond that often invites misuse, with creators spamming unrelated or trending tags in a bid for greater visibility.
As Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has repeatedly stressed, that tactic doesn’t actually boost performance.
Now TikTok appears to be following suit, introducing a hard cap on the number of hashtags a creator can use.
While TikTok hasn’t formally addressed the change, one Reddit user reported that the company described the shift as an effort to “improve the user experience” by reducing visual clutter in the feed, discouraging spammy tagging practices, and enhancing discovery through more intentional and relevant use of tags.
The consequence is simple: fewer hashtags per post will mean creators need to be more strategic, focusing on the tags most likely to amplify reach.
To aid that effort, TikTok’s own Trends dashboard remains a useful tool for identifying rising hashtags that can connect content with the right audience.
We’ve asked TikTok for more detail on this update, and whether the restriction will apply globally, and we’ll update this story if and when the company provides clarification.
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