Elon Musk has just committed to the removal of hashtags on adverts on X, starting tomorrow (i.e. June 27th for most of the world). While spelling ‘aesthetic’ in that way that just always looks wrong (but isn’t), he said that the ‘nightmare that is hashtags will be banned from ads on 𝕏’. Take a gander at the Tweet below for yourself.

Will the hashtag ban apply to regular posts?

No – it appears (for now at least) that hashtags will still be permitted on regular posts – it’s just advertisements that will no longer have them.

That being said, Big Musky isn’t a fan of hashtags in posts either, so they may be on the chopping block in the future. As he said in December last year, “Please stop using hashtags. The system doesn’t need them anymore and they look ugly” – referring to the fact that the discovery and search algorithms now use the AI chatbot Grok, which apparently does the job of collating the subjects of tweets together based on their content without the need for hashtags.

Still, hashtags have been a key part of the platforms history and culture since they were introduced back in 2007, the phrase ‘hashtag’ even becoming part of memey (or even occasionally non-ironic, for shame) conversations in person at one point, and their complete removal would feel like another step in the transition from Twitter to the new X era.

What other changes has Elon Musk brought to Twitter / X?

The below list covers most of the big changes that have been made to the platform since the takeover back in 2022:

• Renamed Twitter to X; replacing the blue bird logo with a minimalist black and white ‘X’
• Aiming to make X an ‘everything app’ (chat, video, payments, etc.) – currently, X Money integration is being worked on
• Launched X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue) with paid verification
• Offered ad revenue sharing and extra features (long posts, video uploads)
• Introduced $1/year fee in some regions to deter bots
• Reinstated banned accounts and reduced content moderation teams
• Changed the algorithm to now prioritise both premium users and Musk's own posts
• Split the user feed into “For You” (algorithmic) and “Following”
• Link headlines were removed, likes were made private, and an edit button was added
• The platform now supports long-form video (up to 3 hours) and articles
• LIP (Latency Indication Protocol) was introduced to improve sync in audio-visual content
• Integration of the Grok AI chatbot

About the Author

Aaron Ritchie

Aaron's laptop knowledge makes him the go-to guy on PC Guide. But he still finds time for features, deals and much more.