Mastodon

In plain words

Mastodon is a decentralized social network for microblogging built on open web protocols and free, open-source software. Like email, it operates across independent servers rather than being controlled by a single company. Users can share posts, follow others, and interact with the community while maintaining control over their own data and experience.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

Mastodon is a social network based on open web protocols and free, open-source software. It is decentralized like e-mail.

The original server of Mastodon, operated by Mastodon GmbH for the common good.

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  Mastodon, a federated microblogging network2017 · mastodon.social · ▲172

  Attached: 1 video Want a prank for a friend with an Android phone (with an opaque case) ? Set up a NFC tag to open the website of your choice then slip it between their phone and the case. Every time they will unlock their phone the website will open. No confirmation, no notification and too thin to

• 
  A new decentralized microblogging platform2016 · github.com · ▲364

  A GNU Social-compatible microblogging server. Contribute to Gargron/mastodon development by creating an account on GitHub.

• 
  Mastodon 2.02017 · github.com · ▲127

  Social networking, back in your hands

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  Mastodon for iOS2021 · apps.apple.com · ▲201

  Official app for the decentralized social network

• 
  Mammoth 2 for Mastodon2023 · getmammoth.app · ▲195

  Mastodon made easy

• 
  SocialBu for Mastodon2023 · socialbu.com · ▲277

  Simple way to manage your Mastodon presence for free

• 
  /dev/null▲468

  a social network for devs

  Dev tools · 2d ago · dev-null.sh

• 
  Whiteboard (YC W26) – an open-source IDE for thoughtful software design▲423

  open-source IDE for thoughtful software design. Contribute to devdotfast/whiteboard development by creating an account on GitHub.

  Dev tools · 27d ago · github.com

• 
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  Contribute to reladraw/reladraw development by creating an account on GitHub.

  Dev tools · 25d ago · github.com

• 
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  Grok Bot alternative: free, local, open-source, multiplayer

  Dev tools · 22d ago · openbot.run

• 
  Talanoa▲340

  Hi HN, I’m a fullstack developer, and honestly, I’ve lost count of how many side projects I’ve worked on over the years. But one idea kept coming back to me: a different kind of email client. It first came to me in 2014: “What if we could handle emails more like conversations?” Every year, I’d revisit this concept in my “Build Notes.” Ten years later, no one had built exactly what I had in mind — so I finally decided to do it myself. That’s how Talanoa was born. I wanted something focused on people, not timelines. I was tired of marking messages as unread just to remember to reply later, or…

  Dev tools · 20d ago · talanoa.email

• 
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  One MCP for everything your agents need: apps, memory, tools

  Dev tools · 27d ago · corespeed.io

• 
  Tribe 2.0▲998

  Introducing Augmented Messaging™

  Work · 2016 · tribe.pm

• 
  Slack for Mac▲937

  A new, improved Slack desktop app for Mac

  Work · 2016 · slack.com

• 
  Your Social Media Fingerprint (maybe NSFW)▲911

  Without your consent most major web platforms leak whether you are logged in. This allows any website to detect on which platforms you

  Growth · 2016 · robinlinus.github.io

• 
  MacBook Pro▲855

  The new MacBook Pro with TouchBar and more

  Life & fun · 2016 · apple.com

• 
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  A brilliant screen for your ideas, from Microsoft

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• 
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  Articles, videos, & resources made by designers at Facebook.

  Work · 2016