Mastodon
A social network of independent servers with no ads and no algorithmic feed.
Instead of Instagram, X and Facebook
Screenshot from joinmastodon.org, taken 2026-10-23, shown to help you recognise the tool. It belongs to its maker. Ask us to remove it.
Mastodon is free and open-source social networking software developed by a non-profit, and its homepage says there are no algorithms or ads, with posts from the people you follow arriving in chronological order. It is not one company's site. Each Mastodon server is an independent entity, and servers connect through the open ActivityPub standard, so people on different servers can follow each other. Development is paid for by donations and sponsors, and the homepage says sponsorship does not equal influence.
The cost is that you pick a server before you start, which puts people off, and the network is far smaller than Instagram's, so your friends may not be there. Its homepage doesn't explain how to move an account between servers, so we scored Lock-in cautiously. We also did not check its licence or its finances.
- Independent servers that connect through the open ActivityPub standard
- No ads and no algorithmic feed, with posts in chronological order
- Developed by a non-profit and funded by donations and sponsors
What stands out
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For comparison, we also reviewed Instagram (7/30) and TikTok (6/30) as a benchmark.
