While Twitter is busy imposing limitations on the visibility of tweets and encountering issues with its TweetDeck app, Mastodon, an open-source alternative to Twitter, is celebrating the launch of a substantial update to its Android app. The recently released app showcases a complete redesign following Google’s Material You design language for Android. It also introduces enhanced features such as tab bars, settings, a compose screen, and more.
Eugen Rochko, the founder and CEO of Mastodon, shared the update on the Mastodon blog, highlighting that the social network, including its mobile apps, web version, and third-party clients, now boasts an active user base of 1.4 million monthly active users, according to the company’s data. Although this represents a 19% increase in monthly active users, the figure has declined from Mastodon’s peak popularity when it reached 2.5 million monthly users after Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover late last year.
Rochko also revealed that over the weekend, the number of active users across Mastodon grew by 294,000, and posting activity nearly tripled, possibly influenced by Twitter’s recent challenges.
The new Android app offers users numerous customization options through the settings screen. These include changing the default posting language, setting reminders to add alternative text for media uploads, and the ability to hide the “boost” and “favorite” counters—Mastodon’s equivalents of Twitter’s retweet feature. Android users can also access information about the server they are connected to and view its rules. In Mastodon’s decentralized social network, users join a server that is federated with other servers across the network, each with its own administrators and moderation guidelines.
Moreover, the app’s updated user profile section now displays all the featured content that was previously missing, such as pinned posts, featured hashtags, and endorsed users.
Additionally, users can now create filters for phrases or keywords to customize their content experience. They can also temporarily pause notifications when they need a break.
Another notable change relates to how the app displays verifications. Mastodon users can self-verify by adding a specific link on their website that points to their Mastodon profile, thereby verifying their identity across the web. The refreshed app now prominently surfaces verified links in search results and other lists, making it easier for users to differentiate between profiles. This addresses a common complaint that finding notable individuals to follow Mastodon is challenging.
While the updated app is available on the Google Play Store, it is not the only option for Android users. Other popular Mastodon clients for Android include Tusky, Megalodon, Fedilab, Tooot, and others. On the other hand, iOS users enjoy a wider selection of apps, including newer ones like Woolly, Mammoth, Radiant, and Ivory, which emerged following the Twitter exodus prompted by Musk’s acquisition and subsequent API changes that impacted Twitter apps.
Due to the limited availability of third-party options on Android, updates to Mastodon’s official mobile app have a more significant impact on the Android platform compared to iOS.
