Some Instagramers certainly won’t be pleased! Instagram has announced that it has launched “a small test” to remove the “Recent” tab from hashtag search results… Good or bad news?
A new test on a small group of people
On Instagram, when you search for or tap a hashtag, the platform opens a three-tab page — “Top,” “Recent,” and “Reels” — that lists the content tagged with it. But some users have certainly noticed that they no longer have “Recent”.
If this is your case, this is a new test that is only available to a small group of people.
As Instagram explains:
“We are trying new things to make hashtags as important to users as possible. For a smaller group, we’re testing new and more current content in the “Top” and “Reel” tabs of hashtags, and removing the “Recent” tabs. We want to see if this helps them engage with more interesting and relevant content on hashtags, while keeping them current. ,
It’s possible that the “Recent” tab will be the least used, prompting Instagram to check if there are any changes to the user experience when it’s removed entirely. It looks like the platform is refining the top tab’s algorithm to display both fresh and trending posts at the same time.
Of course, if the change is permanent, it can be overwhelming for those accustomed to following the latest content linked to a specific hashtag.
this is not the first
But make no mistake, this isn’t the first time. The platform had already removed the “Recent” tab from hashtag searches on Instagram in connection with the 2020 US presidential elections. The purpose of this first test was “Reduce the real-time delivery of potentially harmful content that appears around elections.”
The change was essentially designed to help Instagram moderators stop the flow of hashtag posts through “recent” so users can only see a “top” list based on engagement and relevance.
Recently, Instagram announced that it is testing a new feature supporting social causes through hashtags.
In his announcement:
“People often turn to Instagram to raise their voices, raise issues, and bring communities together. They are eager to support the causes they hear about on Instagram and are always looking for new ways to take action.
It’s clear that he wants to change the way hashtags are used on Instagram to make them “as valuable as possible.” When you search for a hashtag related to a specific cause, it presents an additional popup that highlights the different ways users can support that initiative.
It offers several options:
- If you want to tell more people about this campaign, click the “Spread the Word” button to share the hashtag page via DM;
- When you find a cause you want to support, you can find out more by tapping “Support” on the hashtag page;
- If you want to raise money for a specific cause, Instagram has added a “Create a fundraiser” feature.
In other words, Instagram is working to reduce the use of irrelevant hashtags. Removing the “recent” tab is punishable enough in some contexts, which means that creators will need to focus more on the most relevant hashtags for an overall better user experience.