What is a hashtag?

Hashtags are a really important part of Twitter. But what exactly is a hashtag? Simply put, a hashtag is any word or phrase included in a tweet that starts with a hashtag symbol (#) , which you may also know as the pound sign or number symbol.

So why do people do this? When you include a hashtag in a tweet, you're basically categorizing that post. And if you select a hashtag, you'll see other posts that have used it. This is an easy way to see what's happening on Twitter and follow along with popular topics.

Watch the video below to learn more about hashtags on Twitter:

Using hashtags

1. To use a hashtag, simply insert the hashtag symbol (#) before any word or phrase when writing a tweet. In the example below, we're using the #sunset hashtag.
   
2. After you've posted the tweet, you can select the hashtag to see other posts that use it.

   

3. Tweets that use the same hashtag will appear.
   

If you want to use multiple words in a hashtag, do not include any spaces. For example, if you wrote #beach sunrise , only #beach would be counted as a hashtag. Instead, you'll want to format it like this: # beachsunrise .

Browsing popular hashtags

Hashtags are also an easy way to see what's popular—or trending —on Twitter, and to keep up with news and events in real time.

1. If you're using the Twitter app, you can select the search bar to see trending topics. If you're using a desktop web browser, you'll see these under the Trends section.

   
2. Select any hashtag to see more tweets about it.
   
3. Tweets that include the hashtag will appear. You can also use the search filters to narrow down your results. Just select the search bar or filter icon to access these options.
4. The filter settings will appear. From here, you can apply any specific filters you want. For example, you could apply a filter to see only tweets from people you follow.