Where conversations happen

Mastodon is the largest decentralized social network on the internet. Instead of a single website, it’s a network of millions of users in independent communities that can all interact with one another, seamlessly. No matter what you’re into, you can meet passionate people posting about it on Mastodon!

Join a community and create your profile. Find and and follow fascinating folks and read their posts in an ad-free, chronological timeline. Express yourself with custom emoji, images, GIFs, videos, and audio in 500-character posts. Reply to threads and reblog posts from anyone to share great stuff. Find new accounts to follow and trending hashtags to expand your network.

Mastodon is built with a focus on privacy and safety. Decide whether your posts are shared with your followers, just the people you mention, or the whole world. Content warnings let you hide posts containing sensitive or triggering material until you're ready to engage with them. Each community has its own guidelines and moderators to keep its members safe, and robust blocking and reporting tools help prevent abuse.

More features:

• Dark Mode: Read posts in light, dark, or true black mode

• Polls: Ask followers for their opinion and tally the votes

• Explore: Trending hashtags and accounts are a tap away

• Notifications: Get notified about new follows, replies, and reblogs

• Sharing: Post directly to Mastodon from any share sheet in any app

• Cuteness: Our mascot is an adorable elephant, and you'll see them pop up from time to time

Mastodon is a registered nonprofit and development is supported directly by your donations. There’s no advertising, no monetization, and no venture capital, and we plan to keep it that way.

Mastodon is a free and open-source decentralized social media platform that emphasizes privacy, user control, and community moderation. Unlike centralized platforms like Twitter or Facebook, Mastodon is not owned or controlled by a single entity. Instead, it operates on a federated network of independently operated servers, known as instances.

Key Features:

* Decentralized: Mastodon is not controlled by a single company or organization, eliminating the risk of censorship or data breaches.

* Federated: Instances can communicate with each other, allowing users to follow and interact with people across different servers.

* Privacy-Focused: Mastodon prioritizes user privacy by default. Posts are only visible to followers, and users can control who can see their profile and messages.

* Community-Moderated: Instances are self-moderated by their own communities, ensuring that local standards and values are respected.

* Open Source: Mastodon's code is freely available for anyone to view, modify, and contribute to.

Functionality:

Mastodon's functionality is similar to other social media platforms. Users can create and share posts, follow other users, and engage in conversations. However, it also offers unique features:

* Toots: Mastodon's equivalent of tweets, with a character limit of 500.

* Hashtags: Toots can be tagged with hashtags to make them discoverable by others.

* Polls: Users can create polls to gather feedback from their followers.

* Direct Messages: Private conversations between users on the same or different instances.

* Boosting: Reposting a toot from another user, similar to retweeting.

Instances:

Mastodon is composed of a network of over 4,000 instances, each with its own unique culture and moderation policies. Users can choose to join an instance that aligns with their interests or values.

* Local Timelines: Each instance has a local timeline that displays toots from its members.

* Federated Timelines: Users can also follow federated timelines, which aggregate toots from all instances.

* Cross-Posting: Users can choose to cross-post their toots to other instances, expanding their reach.

Community and Culture:

Mastodon fosters a strong sense of community and values inclusivity. Users are encouraged to engage in respectful and meaningful conversations.

* No Advertising: Mastodon is ad-free, allowing users to enjoy a distraction-free experience.

* User-Supported: Mastodon is supported by donations from its users, ensuring its independence.

* Diversity: Mastodon attracts a diverse user base, including artists, activists, journalists, and individuals seeking an alternative to corporate social media.

Comparison to Other Platforms:

Mastodon differs from centralized social media platforms in several key ways:

* Ownership: Mastodon is owned by its users, not a corporation.

* Control: Users have more control over their data and privacy.

* Community: Mastodon emphasizes community building and local moderation.

* Algorithm: Mastodon does not use algorithms to manipulate users' timelines.

* Culture: Mastodon's culture is more focused on authentic connections and meaningful conversations.