Japan’s LINE launched Tale, an app where people with similar interests can connect “while discovering trending content and taking part in compelling conversations”.

“The service represents a paradigm shift that drives exploration of trending hashtags versus emphasis on building followers,” explained LINE in a statement.

“Traditional social media at times creates social fatigue with people obsessing over the number of followers and Likes along with privacy issues. Tale uses hashtags to not only link ideas, but also encourage dialogue between people,” it added.

With Tale, trending topics are ranked in real-time. With three hashtags per post, users can focus on content and creativity by adding text and doodles.

“Hashtags are deeply integrated into everyday conversation; they’ve become a common language and cultural shorthand in the digital age used for self-expression,” said Jeanie Han, CEO of LINE USA.

“With people suffering from social noise deafness, LINE’s new Tale app addresses this epidemic – enabling consumers to quickly and easily browse and enjoy content that is organised in a timeline through hashtags.”

The app is currently available in the US and Canada .