Hashtag rules and limits on YouTube, Instagram, X and more
The short answer
Keep hashtags few and on topic: every platform here pushes back on piles of unrelated tags.
- YouTube sets a hard number: with more than 60 hashtags it ignores every one, and over-tagging can take the video out of your uploads or search.
- X cuts the reach of posts with excessive or unrelated hashtags, and YouTube may remove videos with misleading or unrelated ones.
- Facebook shows content from accounts that stuff captions with hashtags only to their followers, and Instagram and Facebook don't recommend long captions unrelated to the video.
- LinkedIn counts irrelevant hashtags as engagement bait, and Pinterest removes keyword stuffing.
- Never tag a tragedy for views: YouTube demonetizes videos that add a sensitive event's keywords or hashtags to pull traffic.
- And for US sponsored posts, the FTC says an #ad hidden among other hashtags doesn't count as a disclosure.
- YouTube
- X
At a glance
| Platform | What can happen | Its strictest rule |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube | Taken down, Demonetized, Shown to fewer people | Unrelated, misleading or harassing hashtags |
| Shown to fewer people | Unrelated long captions or engagement pods (not recommended) | |
| Shown to fewer people | Long, hashtag-stuffed or unrelated caption | |
| X | Shown to fewer people | Too many or unrelated (trending) hashtags |
| Taken down | Repetitive Pins or keyword stuffing | |
| Shown to fewer people | Asking for likes, comments or follows |
The rules, side by side
Each row is a platform's own rule: what it means, what the platform says, how to fix it, and where to read it in full.
| Platform | The rule, in plain words | In their words | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | Unrelated, misleading or harassing hashtagsRemovalHashtags not directly related to the video (e.g. unrelated trending tags), or hashtags meant to harass, humiliate or threaten someone, or that are sexual or vulgar.Fix: Keep only hashtags that describe what is in the video. | “Misleading or unrelated hashtags may result in the removal of your video or playlist.” | |
| YouTube | Keyword stuffing in the descriptionRemovalA block of keywords or tags pasted into the description.Fix: Delete the keyword block; put the effort into the title, thumbnail and a real description. | “Adding excessive tags to your video description is against our policies on spam, deceptive practices, and scams” | |
| YouTube | Exploiting a tragedy or using its keywords for viewsDemonetizationDuring a declared sensitive event (disaster, attack, conflict, health emergency), content that profits from or exploits it, including adding event keywords or hashtags to drive traffic.Fix: Don't put tragedy keywords or hashtags on unrelated videos. | “Using keywords related to a sensitive event to attempt to drive additional traffic.” | |
| YouTube | More than 60 hashtagsReduced reachDescription or title with more than 60 hashtags.Fix: Keep a few relevant hashtags; only the first three show above the title anyway. | “If a video or playlist has more than 60 hashtags, we'll ignore each hashtag on that content. Over-tagging may result in the removal of your video from your uploads or from search.” | |
| InstagramFacebook | Unrelated long captions or engagement pods (not recommended)Not recommendedLong captions unrelated to the content (keyword or hashtag stuffing) and coordinated comment networks used to inflate engagement.Fix: Keep the caption about what is in the video and drop unrelated tags; leave engagement pods. | “Long captions unrelated to the underlying content and coordinated comment networks intended to artificially drive engagement and distribution.” |
|
| Long, hashtag-stuffed or unrelated captionNot recommendedLong, distracting captions with an inordinate number of hashtags, or captions completely unrelated to the content.Fix: Keep the caption short and about the video, with at most about 5 relevant hashtags. | “Accounts that engage in these tactics will only have their content shown to their followers and will not be eligible for monetization.” | ||
| X | Too many or unrelated (trending) hashtagsReduced reachMany hashtags unrelated to the video, or trending hashtags added to pull attention to unrelated content, accounts or products.Fix: Use one or two relevant hashtags or none. Remove trending tags unrelated to the video. | “posting with excessive, unrelated hashtags in a single post or across multiple posts;” | |
| Repetitive Pins or keyword stuffingRemovalCreating or saving repetitive, deceptive or irrelevant content to make money, stuffing irrelevant keywords into titles or descriptions, buying engagement, or using unapproved automation.Fix: Write a natural title and description with a few relevant keywords; post each video once. | “Don’t use any other unscrupulous tactics to attempt to improperly influence distribution, clicks, or other metrics, including: buying or selling engagement, "stuffing" irrelevant keywords, generating inauthentic traffic, or redirecting...” | ||
| Asking for likes, comments or followsNot recommendedExplicitly asking for likes, shares, comments or follows: 'Like if you agree!', reaction-vote polls, tagging people for attention, unrelated sharing requests, exaggeration, or irrelevant hashtags.Fix: Drop the engagement request; ask a real question instead and use only relevant hashtags. | “Content or actions that explicitly ask for likes, shares, comments, or follows. Examples include reaction-vote polls (e.g. “Like if you agree!”), tagging for attention, unrelated sharing requests, posts exaggerating information, or...” |
Laws that apply on every platform
These come from laws and advertising regulators, not from a platform, so they follow you to every app in the places they cover.
| Where | The rule, in plain words | In their words | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | Sponsored video without an in-video ad disclosure (US)Needs a disclosure labelThe creator has a material connection to a brand they mention or show (paid deal, free or discounted product, affiliate link or code, employment, family or personal tie) and the video itself has no clear disclosure. A disclosure that is only in the caption or description, only at the end, hidden among hashtags, or uses vague words like 'sp', 'spon', 'collab', 'thanks' or 'ambassador' does not count.Fix: Say it and show it at the start of the video, in the same language as the video: for example say 'This video is sponsored by X' and put 'Ad' or 'Paid partnership with X' on screen long enough to read. Keep the caption disclosure too, and also switch on the platform's paid-partnership label, but do not rely on the label alone. On a livestream, repeat it every so often. | “the disclosure should be in the video and not just in the description uploaded with the video.” |
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