eSAFETY GUIDE

Mastodon 

Mastodon does not specify a minimum age
+ Mastodon does not specify a minimum age

What is Mastodon? 

Mastodon is a free, open-source social media service that lets you publicly share short posts that are limited to 500 characters of text. You can post messages, GIFs, images or video, follow other users and ‘boost’ or reshare other people’s posts. You can also use hashtags and lists and edit your posts once they have been shared. 

Mastodon is a decentralised social media network, meaning that there is no single server, person or company operating the service. Anyone with the required technical expertise and access to server space can create and run their own ‘instance’ of Mastodon and establish their own set of community rules. These interconnected servers are referred to as the ‘Fediverse’, short for ‘federated universe’. Users within a server can follow each other, but they can also follow users within other servers.  

When you sign up to Mastodon you choose which server or community you want to join, and it’s also relatively easy to switch servers. Each server is privately owned and operated and can decide its own moderation policy and which servers it will communicate with, giving users control over who has access to their community and how it is moderated. Communities can also choose to remain private and not connect to other servers. 

Website: joinmastodon.org
Apps: Android app, Apple iOS app

How do people use Mastodon? 

Learn more about the benefits and risks associated with how people use decentralised social media services like Mastodon. 

Mastodon is used for: anonymous communication, content sharing, location sharing, messaging/online chat, online relationships, photo/video sharing and screen capture. 

How can you report online abuse, ask for content to be removed or block someone? 

Each instance of Mastodon is privately run and has its own policies and processes, so you will need to check the individual moderation policies of the server you have joined. These links are provided by Mastodon:

How can you protect your personal information? 

Mastodon does not feature advertising and the developers do not track user data. However, as each Mastodon server is privately operated, you will need to check their individual privacy policies. 

These links are provided by Mastodon:

Key safety links 

These links are provided by Mastodon:

Last updated: 04/06/2024

The eSafety Guide helps you find out how to protect your personal information and report harmful content on common social media, games, apps and sites. Entries are for information only and are not reviews or endorsements by eSafety. Before choosing to use any online service or platform it’s best to:

  • do your own research to understand the risks and benefits
  • check the age rating and requirements
  • consider privacy
  • check the permissions and other settings
  • check the in-app reporting options.

If you are a parent or carer who is deciding whether a child should be allowed to use an online service or platform, you can also:

  • consider your child's readiness for the types of content and experiences they might encounter
  • help them understand what to do if they need help
  • provide ongoing support and monitoring, for example through regular check-ins with your child
  • agree to some rules about use of each service or platform.

To find out more, you can read the App checklist for parents, as well as information about parental controls in social media, games and apps and mental wellbeing resources for families.