F4F Meaning

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What does F4F mean?

F4F means Follow for Follow.

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F4F Meaning
Find out what F4F means and how it is used.

F4F is an initialism and a hashtag that stands for Follow for Follow. As a hashtag, it is mainly used on Instagram by people who are trying to get more followers. If someone uses the hashtag, they are basically saying “if you follow me, I’ll follow you back”.

Where is F4F used?

F4F is primarily used as a hashtag on Instagram, but it is also used on other social networks that use hashtags, like Twitter and TikTok.

F4F is used on the follow platforms and places:

  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
An example of the initialism F4F in a text message.
An example of the initialism F4F in a text message.

How is F4F used?

F4F is used to tell people that if they follow you, you will follow them back. Oftentimes, however, it works like this: you use the hashtag #F4F, a random account follows you, you follow that random account back, that random account unfollows you.

Do people say F4F out loud?

No, never. That would be bizarre.

Example Uses of F4F

On Instagram:
Selfie #F4F #selfie #me

An Instagram user posts a selfie and uses that hashtag #F4F to tell people that if they follow him, he will follow them back.

On Instagram:
I love my puppy. #puppy #F4F

Someone posts a photo of their puppy on Instagram and uses the hashtag #F4F in an effort to gain followers.

On Instagram:
Trying to grow my account! #F4F

Someone is trying to grow their Instagram account, so they use the hashtag #F4F on their post so that people will follow them.

On Instagram:
Best car I've ever owned! #C63AMG #Merc #F4F

Someone posts a photo of their car on Instagram and uses the hashtag to get more followers.

On Twitter:

Someone's old twitter account was hacked, and they want to get their new account back up to the same number of followers.

Who uses F4F?

Many people who want to grow their social media accounts use the hashtag. In our experience, these tend to be younger people, although some older folks working in marketing may use the hashtag as well.

A lot of people who use the hashtag are just copying and pasting a list of popular hashtags in an effort to get more likes or followers.

History of F4F

First Use

We suspect that the initialism has been in use since the beginning of social media, although it was first defined on Urban Dictionary in 2010.

Data from Google Trends showing the popularity of searches for F4F.
Data from Google Trends showing the popularity of searches for F4F.

Rise in Popularity

According to Google Trends, there isn’t really any huge increase in searches at any one time, but there are some increases that line up roughly with when Twitter and Instagram were experiencing growth.

What was used before F4F?

Nothing, because social media and “followers” probably did not exist yet.