General Settings

Configure the core behavior of BuddyPress Hashtags from the General Settings tab.

Location: WB Plugins > BuddyPress Hashtag > General

All settings on this tab are stored in a single WordPress option: bpht_general_settings (serialized array). On multisite networks with the plugin network-activated, the option is read from get_site_option instead of get_option.

Settings reference

The table below names every key in bpht_general_settings and describes how the saved value maps to the toggle state you see in the admin.

Option key	UI label	Saved when ON	Default behavior
`allow_non_an_ht`	International Language Support	`"yes"`	Off (alphanumeric only)
`min_length`	Minimum Characters	integer (e.g. `3`)	`3`
`max_length`	Maximum Characters	integer (e.g. `16`)	`16`
`disable_on_bbpress`	Enable bbPress Hashtags	`"yes"` when enabled (inverted)	Enabled
`disable_on_blog_posts`	Enable Blog Hashtags	`"yes"` when enabled (inverted)	Enabled
`enable_hashtag_suggestions`	Enable Hashtag Suggestions	`"yes"`	Off
`disable_follow_hashtag`	Enable Hashtag Following	`"yes"` when enabled (inverted)	Enabled
`prevent_profanity_hashtags`	Enable Content Moderation	`"yes"`	Off

Inverted keys note. Four keys use an “opt-out” naming convention (disable_*). The toggle reads ON when the key is absent or not set to "yes". Specifically: when disable_on_bbpress is missing from the saved array, bbPress hashtag hooks are registered (feature is on). Setting disable_on_bbpress = "yes" removes those hooks (feature is off). The same logic applies to disable_on_blog_posts and disable_follow_hashtag.

International Language Support

Option key: bpht_general_settings['allow_non_an_ht']

Enables hashtags written in non-Latin scripts and emoji characters (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, and others).

When this toggle is on, the plugin bypasses the min/max character length check entirely. The length fields are hidden in the UI whenever this option is active — they have no effect while it is enabled.

When Disabled (default): Only alphanumeric characters (a-z, 0-9), underscores, and hyphens are recognised as part of a hashtag. Length limits apply.

Hashtag Length Limits

These two fields are only visible when International Language Support is off. They are ignored when International Language Support is on.

Minimum Characters

Option key: bpht_general_settings['min_length']

The shortest hashtag the plugin will convert to a link. The HTML field enforces a minimum of 2.

Default: 3
Tags shorter than this threshold are left as plain text.

Maximum Characters

Option key: bpht_general_settings['max_length']

The longest hashtag the plugin will convert to a link. The HTML field enforces a minimum value of 5.

Default: 16
Tags longer than this threshold are left as plain text.

Enable bbPress Hashtags

Option key: bpht_general_settings['disable_on_bbpress']

Conditional visibility: This setting is only shown when the bbPress plugin is active (class_exists('bbPress')). If bbPress is not installed the row does not appear.

Controls whether hashtags are processed in forum topics and replies. When enabled, the plugin hooks into bbp_new_topic_pre_content, bbp_new_reply_pre_content, and the corresponding edit hooks. When disabled, none of those hooks are registered.

On (default when bbPress is active): Hashtags in forum topics and replies become clickable links.
Off: Hashtags in forum content are left as plain text.

Enable Blog Hashtags

Option key: bpht_general_settings['disable_on_blog_posts']

Controls whether hashtags are processed in WordPress posts, pages, and comments.

On (default): The plugin hooks into wp_insert_post_data and preprocess_comment to convert hashtags in blog content.
Off: No hooks are registered for blog content. Hashtags in posts, pages, and comments are left as plain text.

Enable Hashtag Suggestions

Option key: bpht_general_settings['enable_hashtag_suggestions']

Conditional visibility: This setting is only shown when BuddyPress is active (class_exists('BuddyPress')).

Shows an autocomplete dropdown as users type a # character in activity update fields, similar to @mentions. The dropdown lists matching hashtags already in the database along with their usage counts.

On: Autocomplete AJAX handlers are registered and the suggestion UI is available.
Off (default): No dropdown appears; users type hashtags manually.

Enable Hashtag Following

Option key: bpht_general_settings['disable_follow_hashtag']

Conditional visibility: This setting is only shown when BuddyPress is active (class_exists('BuddyPress')).

Allows members to follow hashtags so that content using those tags appears in their activity feed. When enabled, the plugin registers the following additional UI:

A “Followed Hashtags” tab in the BuddyPress activity directory
A “Settings > Hashtags” tab on member profile pages (at /members/me/settings/hashtags/)
A “Followed Hashtags” profile tab listing content from followed tags
“Most Followed Hashtags” widget availability

When disabled, all follow-related navigation and UI is hidden. Existing follow data in the database is preserved but not surfaced anywhere.

Compatibility note: When the BuddyBoss platform is active, the plugin registers follow functionality through the BuddyBoss activity filter API (bb_get_enabled_activity_filter_options and related filters) instead of the standard BuddyPress nav hooks. When the Youzify plugin is active, an additional tab hook (bp_activity_type_tabs) is also registered.

On (default): Follow UI is active.
Off: All follow-related hooks are removed. Existing follow records are kept.

Enable Content Moderation

Option key: bpht_general_settings['prevent_profanity_hashtags']

Conditional visibility: This setting is only shown when the BuddyPress Profanity plugin is active (detected via bp_get_option('wbbprof_settings')). The row does not appear if that plugin is absent.

When enabled, any word that matches the profanity filter is not converted to a hashtag link. It remains as plain text and is not stored in the hashtag index.

On: Profanity words are blocked from becoming hashtags.
Off (default): No profanity filtering is applied to hashtags.

Saving Settings

Click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the form. A green confirmation notice appears at the top of the tab when the save is successful. If you use a page-caching plugin, clear the cache after saving so the updated behavior is visible to all visitors.