Threads is rolling out its hashtags without the hash symbol globally

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

The company began testing the tag feature in Australia last month, and it is now rolling out tags worldwide.

Unlike hashtags, people can use a phrase with space in it along with special characters. Users can click on a tag in a post to open all the posts in the search view.

You can simply type the tag in the search bar to look at all posts with that tag. However, you might see some posts with that phrase not using tags as well. You can still create a hashtag if you want but you will have to manually add hashtags to the post in the composer.

In a post, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said that the company hopes this design will lead to less engagement hacking.

Notably, the Threads app doesn’t have a trending section yet. But when you tap on 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. Some users said that they received warnings about some tags being sensitive because they were reported before. It’s not clear what is the threshold for when Threads turns on the pop-up for sensitive tags.

As my colleague Sarah Perez noted in her story last month, there is also a problem with similar hashtags being populated. With one tag per post limit, your post might not reach the audience searching for another tag. For instance, right now there are multiple tags for NBA, including NBAThread, NBA Threads and NBA.

Last month, Threads expanded its search feature to “all languages” in all countries where the app is available. The company is also reportedly set to launch Threads in the EU in compliance with the region’s regulation.

Earlier this month, app analytics firm Apptopia said that Threads’ daily downloads recovered from a dip in the last few months.