Smithereen – an early-Facebook-style Fediverse server
Hey! I'm Gregory Klyushnikov, a former lead Android developer at VKontakte, Russia's Facebook. And I hate enshittification with a burning passion. I quit in 2016 because the mismatch in values with the new management started driving me crazy. My core issue with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, VKontakte, and other commercial, centralized social network services is that they all eventually drift away from "staying updated on your friends' lives" towards "getting world news", "communicating with businesses", "a town square", "a place to look at ads", "endless supply of brainrot", and all kinds of…
Smithereen – an early-Facebook-style Fediverse server launched on May 21, 2026 with 15 votes, #1,002 of 20,538 launches that month and more than 90% of that year's launches.
In plain words
Smithereen is a Fediverse-based social server designed to function like early Facebook, focusing on connecting users with their friends rather than pushing news, ads, or strangers. Created by Gregory Klyushnikov, a former lead Android developer at VKontakte, it addresses his concern that major social networks inevitably shift toward engagement-maximizing features. The platform operates as a federated service, allowing decentralized social networking without the algorithmic feeds and commercial pressures of centralized platforms.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Smithereen is a universal tool for staying in touch with your friends, classmates, neighbors, and coworkers. No algorithmic feeds. No ads. No celebrities. No influencers. No brands. Just you and people you care about. And this time, no one will take it away from you, because Smithereen is part of a decentralized social network, the fediverse.
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hey! I'm Gregory Klyushnikov, a former lead Android developer at VKontakte, Russia's Facebook. And I hate enshittification with a burning passion. I quit in 2016 because the mismatch in values with the new management started driving me crazy. My core issue with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, VKontakte, and other…
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