cover image

Mastodon (social network)

Self-hosted social network software / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mastodon is free and open-source software for running self-hosted social networking services.[lower-alpha 1] It has microblogging features similar to Twitter, which are offered by a large number of independently run nodes, known as instances, each with its own code of conduct, terms of service, privacy policy, privacy options, and content moderation policies.[6][7][8]

Quick facts: Original author(s), Developer(s), Initial rel...
Mastodon
Original author(s)Eugen Rochko[1]
Developer(s)Mastodon gGmbH[2]
Initial release16 March 2016; 7 years ago (2016-03-16)[3]
Stable release
4.1.7 / September 5, 2023
Preview release
4.0.0rc4 / November 14, 2022; 10 months ago (2022-11-14)
Repository
Written inRuby on Rails, JavaScript (React.js, Redux)
Operating systemCross-platform
PlatformiOS, Android, Linux, BSD, Sailfish OS, macOS, Microsoft Windows
Available in93 languages[4]
TypeMicroblogging
LicenseAGPLv3+[5]
Websitejoinmastodon.org Edit this at Wikidata
Close
A cartoon Mastodon mascot
The mascot of the Mastodon social network — a mastodon

Each user is a member of a specific Mastodon instance (also called a server), which can interoperate as a federated social network, allowing users on different instances to interact with each other. This is intended to give users the flexibility to select a node whose policies they prefer, but keep access to a larger social network. Mastodon is also part of the Fediverse ensemble of computer servers, which use shared protocols allowing users to interact with other users on computers running compatible software packages such as PeerTube, Friendica, and Lemmy. Mastodon is crowdfunded and does not contain ads.

Mastodon was created by Eugen Rochko and announced on Hacker News in October 2016,[9] and gained significant adoption in 2022 in the wake of Twitter's acquisition by Elon Musk.[10][11][12]

The project is maintained by German non-profit Mastodon gGmbH.[13]