Finally, an App to Curb Hashtag Abuse #Blessed

“All of our clients want hashtags for everything we are doing, and in some ways, being a digital agency, we were laughing at how we feel partially responsible in what feels like an outbreak or pandemic of hashtags,” said Montgomery. “So we wanted to come up with a solution to the problem.”

Threshold initially set out to make a funny viral video about the “hashtag pandemic” but instead took the idea all the way to creating an app that autocorrects hashtags. All you have to do is enter in a message you plan on sending out on Facebook or Twitter. Hash Snag scans the text for hashtags and replaces the hashtags with warning messages. For example, if you enter in a message that contains #YOLO — thanks a lot for that one, Drake — Hash Snag will replace it with something like #youaregonnaregretthis. Or if you enter in a message that contains multiple hashtags — we’re looking at you, brands — Hash Snag will show a message instructing you to just pick one.

Montgomery acknowledges that this is more of a humor app that an actual utility. After all, those who get the app are aware of the hashtag problem. It’s the others that are the hard cases. Still, a little awareness of the threat hashtags pose to the environment can’t hurt in the long run.

“I think what’s going to happen is that there will be a refinement — this knee-jerk reaction to put a hashtag on anything and everything will go away,” said Montgomery. “In some ways, it’s smart because it creates a communal conversation, but if [hashtags] aren’t smart or intuitive, it ends up being a bunch of muckety muck.”

You can download the app for free in the Apple App Store or Google Play.