Tumblr adds mentions, takes a tagged page from Twitter

Tumblr tag friends with mentions feature
It only took seven years

Tumblr is coming up on its 7-year anniversary next month, so it's about time the social network added Twitter-style mentions.

The Yahoo-owned microblogging service now supports tagging other Tumblr accounts by first typing the "@" symbol followed by the person or organization's name.

A helpful dropdown menu does a good job of auto-completing the mention, and it thankfully works whether you're following the Tumblr account or not.

So far, the new mentions feature is limited to the web, as the Tumblr iOS and Android apps refuse to tag other accounts for the time being. The @ symbol just sits there.

Tumblr expects to roll out iOS and Android app updates with the ability to mention other profiles soon, but a company spokesperson didn't give TechRadar a more specific time frame.

But @dad, everyone's doing it!

Tumblr isn't the first social network to take a page from Twitter's mentions. Most notably, Facebook added the ability to tag friends in status updates back in 2009 and in comments in 2011.

This feature migrated to the Facebook-owned Instagram platform, too. Photo caption and comment mentions not only appear on the site, they actually translate to Twitter when posts are farmed out.

Google+ has its own tagging method. Instead of leading a friend's name with the @ symbol, the search engine giant enables everyone to tag people in their circles with the "+" symbol.

Tumblr is finally giving its 166 million blogs another way to stay connected besides sharing, reblogging and liking posts. It just needs to come to the apps to have real meaning in today's mobile-obsessed world.

Matt Swider
Latest in Twitter
Smartphone with new logo X twitter app background. Application twitter old blue bird change X black and white new.
How to delete all your tweets on X
Cartoon of Elon Musk with flaming dollar bills in the background
Elon Musk plans to charge new X users $1 to use the app, so I guess I’m really done with Twitter now
Smartphone with new logo X twitter app background. Application twitter old blue bird change X black and white new.
Elon Musk has removed a vital feature on X – fake news could soon get a lot worse
Cartoon of Elon Musk with flaming dollar bills in the background
Elon Musk continues campaign to ruin his own platform by removing Twitter Circles
A phone screen showing the Twitter Blue logo
Twitter's Blue Ticks are now so toxic that paid users can choose to hide them
X logo and Twitter logo with arrows showing swap
Sorry, Elon Musk, I signed up for Twitter, not X. Now it's time to go
Latest in News
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin Rennovations
Disney’s giving a classic Buzz Lightyear ride a tech overhaul – here's everything you need to know
Hisense U8 series TV on wall in living room
Hisense announces 2025 mini-LED TV lineup, with screen sizes up to 100 inches – and a surprising smart TV switch
Nintendo Music teaser art
Nintendo Music expands its library with songs from Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Tetris
Opera AI Tabs
Opera's new AI feature brings order to your browser tab chaos
An image of Pro-Ject's Flatten it closed and opened
Pro-Ject’s new vinyl flattener will fix any warped LPs you inadvertently buy on Record Store Day
The iPhone 16 Pro on a grey background
iPhone 17 Pro tipped to get 8K video recording – but I want these 3 video features instead