Mastodon, a decentralized alternative to X, plans to target creators with new features

Mastodon overhauls the onboarding experience

Mastodon announced plans Wednesday to redesign its application to attract more newcomers and content creators. The decentralized social network will simplify its signup process to remove the technical friction that often discourages new users. This update marks a strategic pivot for the platform as it competes with X and Meta’s Threads for a share of the microblogging market.

The organization spent the last 18 months expanding its core development team to prepare for these changes. The team now includes specialized engineers for web, mobile, and backend systems, alongside a dedicated product designer. Technical director Renaud Chaput and product designer Imani Joy detailed the new roadmap in a company blog post this week.

The primary goal involves fixing the "server problem" that confuses many people during registration. Currently, Mastodon requires users to select a specific server to join the decentralized network, known as the fediverse. This step often acts as a barrier for those accustomed to the centralized, single-sign-on models of traditional social media apps.

Mastodon will now guide users toward smaller, independent servers rather than letting them default to the largest instances. The platform operates best when communities remain distributed across many independent hubs, each with its own moderation rules and culture. The new onboarding flow will explain these benefits while making the technical choice feel less daunting for average consumers.

New tools for server administrators

The platform is introducing a suite of administrative tools to help volunteer server operators manage their communities. These updates focus on reducing the manual labor required to maintain a safe and functional server. Administrators will soon have access to external blocklists to automate the filtering of known bad actors and malicious domains.

The development team is also building automated content scanning features to detect illegal content and spam. This move addresses a long-standing criticism of decentralized networks, where moderation often falls entirely on the shoulders of individuals. By providing these tools, Mastodon hopes to lower the barrier to entry for people who want to host their own servers without becoming full-time moderators.

Technical updates will also address high infrastructure costs for smaller server owners. Mastodon plans to introduce features that reduce media storage requirements by serving remote posts through trusted third-party providers. This allows small servers to host large conversations without paying for massive amounts of cloud storage for images and videos.

• External blocklists for automated moderation
• Automated scanning for spam and illegal content
• Remote media serving to lower storage costs
• Simplified maintenance tools for indie operators

These infrastructure changes aim to preserve the decentralized nature of the ActivityPub protocol. If the technical burden of running a server remains too high, the network risks consolidating around a few massive providers. Mastodon leadership believes that healthier discourse happens in smaller, well-moderated groups rather than giant digital town squares.

Attracting creators and public figures

Mastodon is targeting journalists, public institutions, and content creators with a series of profile and discovery updates. The app will launch a redesigned user profile that allows individuals to better showcase their work and history. This follows a broader industry trend where creators seek "platform-agnostic" ways to reach their audiences without being beholden to a single algorithm.

A new email notification system will allow people to follow Mastodon updates even if they do not have a Mastodon account. This feature functions similarly to a newsletter, letting writers and reporters reach a wider audience across the traditional web. It bridges the gap between the fediverse and the standard internet, making the platform more useful for professional broadcasters.

The platform also plans to enhance the "compose" experience to make posting more intuitive. Recent updates already added Quote Posts, a feature common on X that Mastodon resisted for years due to concerns about dogpiling. The new version of Quote Posts includes more granular user controls to prevent harassment while still allowing for public commentary.

Mastodon is also working on Collections, which are curated lists of recommended users. This feature mirrors the "Starter Packs" recently popularized by Bluesky. Collections help new users find relevant voices in specific fields like technology, politics, or art immediately after they sign up.

Leadership changes and nonprofit status

The platform is undergoing a significant structural transformation as it moves to a nonprofit model. Founder Eugen Rochko recently stepped down as CEO to facilitate this transition. Felix Hlatky, based in Austria, has taken over as the executive director to lead the organization’s daily operations and strategic growth.

Mastodon also hired Dr. Marius Rothermund, a certified German lawyer, to manage the legal complexities of the restructuring. The organization is currently navigating legal requirements across three distinct markets: the United States, Germany, and Belgium. This global nonprofit structure is intended to ensure the platform remains independent and cannot be sold to a private billionaire or corporation.

The shift to a nonprofit aligns with Mastodon's mission to provide a public service rather than a profit-driven product. The organization relies on donations and grants rather than advertising or data mining. This financial model allows the team to prioritize user privacy and decentralized architecture over engagement hacks and algorithmic feeds.

The new leadership team is tasked with balancing the platform's "open source" roots with the need for a polished, consumer-ready product. While the core software remains free for anyone to modify, the official Mastodon apps will focus on usability and accessibility to compete with venture-backed rivals.

Current growth and user metrics

Mastodon’s monthly active user count currently fluctuates between 750,000 and 1,000,000. Third-party trackers provide varying estimates, with some placing the number at 750,000 while others suggest it hits the 1 million mark during peak periods. Mastodon’s official website currently lists approximately 785,000 active users.

The platform experienced its largest growth spurt in October 2022 following the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk. While it has struggled to retain every user who joined during that period, it has established a stable base of enthusiasts and professionals. The current goal is to convert occasional "tourists" into daily active users by removing the technical hurdles associated with decentralization.

The competitive landscape has shifted since the 2022 surge. Threads now boasts over 200 million users and has begun integrating with the ActivityPub protocol. This means Mastodon users can increasingly follow and interact with Threads users, further validating the decentralized model Mastodon pioneered.

Mastodon's strategy relies on being the "independent alternative" to corporate-owned social media. By improving the design and simplifying the signup process, the team hopes to capture users who want the benefits of the fediverse without the headache of learning how it works. The upcoming features represent the most significant update to the platform's user experience since its inception in 2016.