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How to Follow a Hashtag on Instagram (2026 Workaround)

How to Follow a Hashtag on Instagram (2026 Workaround)

Instagram removed the Follow button for hashtags in 2024, so there is no direct way to follow one any more. The workaround in this film: search for the hashtag, open its page, then use the Your algorithm screen to add the topic to ‘What you want to see more of’ - Instagram then shows you more reels about it.

✅ Tested on
  • SystemAndroid
  • AppInstagram
  • Last verifiedNovember 10, 2026

Every screenshot below is taken from the actual recording on this device — no stock images.

Steps

Open Instagram

Open Instagram from your home screen.

Open Instagram

Open search

Tap Search in the bottom bar, then tap the search field at the top.

Open search

Type the hashtag

Type the hashtag you want to follow. The film types ‘#skate’ and Instagram suggests matching hashtags below.

Type the hashtag

Open the hashtag’s page

Tap a hashtag in the list to open its page. The film opens #skatepark - its posts are blurred here because they show other people’s faces.

Open the hashtag’s page

Open Your algorithm

Open a post from the hashtag page, then tap the sliders icon at the top right. The Your algorithm screen opens - this is the control the film uses instead of a Follow button.

Open Your algorithm

Type the interest and send it

Under ‘What you want to see more of’, tap Add, type the interest - the film types ‘skate’ - then tap the blue send arrow.

Type the interest and send it

Check the interest is added

‘Skateboarding’ now sits under ‘What you want to see more of’. Instagram will show you more reels on that topic.

Check the interest is added

Good to know

  1. You can no longer directly follow a hashtag on Instagram - the follow feature was removed in 2024, and this article is retitled to say so.
  2. The narrator says to tap ’the search icon at the bottom right corner’ - the Search tab is in the bottom bar, fourth from the left.
  3. The film searches for ‘skate’ but ends up opening the #skatepark page from the suggestions - any hashtag in the list works the same way.
  4. The narrator calls the icon to open Your algorithm ‘hearts with two lines’ and ’the tree’ - in the film it is the sliders/filter icon at the top right of a post.
  5. Adding the interest does not follow the hashtag or show its posts in your feed - it only tells Instagram to show you more reels on that topic.
  6. The post the film opens from the hashtag page is not shown as a step: it shows a person diving, and the frame is not needed for the workaround.

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