How to Disable Trending Hashtags on a Mastodon Instance

Mastodon instances often display trending hashtags in the Explore section and the web interface sidebar. While trending hashtags can help users discover popular topics, instance moderators or administrators may want to disable this feature to reduce noise or limit exposure to certain content. This article explains how to turn off trending hashtags on a Mastodon instance using the admin settings and server configuration files. You will learn the exact menu paths and code changes required to disable the feature completely.

How Trending Hashtags Work in Mastodon and Why Disable Them

Mastodon automatically collects hashtags used across the federated timeline and ranks them by frequency of use over a rolling time window. These trending hashtags appear in the Explore section under the Trends tab and sometimes in a sidebar widget. The system uses an algorithm that accounts for both local and federated activity, so even small instances may see trending hashtags from the broader network.

Instance moderators may want to disable trending hashtags for several reasons. Some communities prefer a quieter interface without popularity-based content. Others have experienced hashtag spam or coordinated campaigns that artificially inflate trends. Disabling the feature removes the Trends tab from the Explore section and prevents the sidebar from showing trending hashtags.

Prerequisites for Disabling Trending Hashtags

You need administrator access to the Mastodon instance. If you use a managed hosting provider such as Mastodon.host or Masto.host, confirm whether the provider allows server-level configuration changes. For self-hosted instances, you must have SSH access to the server and the ability to edit the mastodon.yml file or run tootctl commands.

Steps to Disable Trending Hashtags on a Mastodon Instance

There are two primary methods to disable trending hashtags. The first method uses the web-based admin panel and works on any instance running Mastodon 3.2 or later. The second method modifies the server configuration file and is necessary if the admin panel option is missing or if you want to ensure the feature stays off after updates.

Method 1: Disable Through the Admin Panel

1. Log in as an admin account
   Open your Mastodon instance in a web browser and sign in with an account that has the Administrator role.
2. Navigate to Server Settings
   Click the Preferences icon (gear icon) in the right sidebar. Under the Administration section, click Server Settings.
3. Open the Trends tab
   In the Server Settings page, find and click the Trends tab. This tab appears only for administrators and moderators.
4. Uncheck the trending hashtags option
   Find the checkbox labeled Enable trending hashtags. Uncheck this box to disable the feature. The exact wording may be Enable trends for hashtags on older versions.
5. Save the changes
   Click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page. The Trends tab will disappear from the Explore section immediately for all users.

Method 2: Disable Through Server Configuration

1. SSH into your server
   Connect to your Mastodon server using SSH. You need root or sudo access to edit the Mastodon configuration file.
2. Open the mastodon.yml file
   Navigate to the Mastodon installation directory, typically /home/mastodon/live. Edit the config/mastodon.yml file with a text editor such as nano or vim.
3. Add the trends.enabled setting
   Find the production: section. Add the following lines under it:
   trends:
enabled: false
   Indent the lines with two spaces to match the YAML syntax. Save and close the file.
4. Restart Mastodon services
   Run systemctl restart mastodon-web mastodon-sidekiq mastodon-streaming to apply the configuration change. If you use a process manager other than systemd, adjust the command accordingly.
5. Clear cached trending data (optional)
   Run tootctl trends remove to delete any existing trending hashtag data from the database. This step prevents stale data from appearing if the feature is re-enabled later.

Common Issues After Disabling Trending Hashtags

Trending hashtags still appear in the Explore section

If trending hashtags remain visible after disabling the feature through the admin panel, the browser may be caching an older version of the page. Clear the browser cache and reload the Explore section. If the issue persists, use the server configuration method to ensure the change is applied at the application level.

Sidebar still shows trending hashtags

Some Mastodon themes or custom CSS may display trending hashtags in the sidebar even after the feature is disabled. Check the theme settings in Server Settings > Site Extensions or review any custom CSS files. Remove or comment out code that references .trends or .trending-tags.

Users report missing Trends tab

After disabling trending hashtags, the Trends tab disappears from the Explore section for all users. This is the expected behavior. If you want to show the Trends tab without hashtags, you cannot do so because Mastodon ties the tab to the trending feature. Consider using an alternative feature like pinned posts or curated feeds for content discovery.

Mastodon Admin Panel vs Server Configuration for Disabling Trends

Item	Admin Panel Method	Server Config Method
Access level required	Administrator role in Mastodon	SSH root or sudo access
Persistence after update	May reset after Mastodon version upgrade	Persists across upgrades unless config file is overwritten
Immediate effect	Yes, after saving changes	Yes, after service restart
Removes existing trend data	No	Requires manual tootctl trends remove

Disabling trending hashtags on a Mastodon instance is straightforward using either the admin panel or server configuration. The admin panel method works for most managed instances, while the server configuration method gives self-hosted administrators full control. After disabling the feature, run tootctl trends remove to clean up any leftover data in the database. If you later decide to re-enable trending hashtags, simply reverse the steps and restart the services.