After its initial launch on the iOS App Store, Twitter’s open-source alternative to Mastodon is now officially available for download on Android via the Google Play Store.
Mastodon is a much smaller decentralized alternative to Twitter, which according to the official website has around 4.4 million users worldwide. The decentralized nature is one of the main reasons Mastodon has gained popularity since its launch in 2016. It relies heavily on mini-communities and interest groups hosted in unique servers.
For the privacy-conscious, this means no “main” timeline or database, but it does come at the expense of some of the core functionality and features you’ll find on other social platforms. However, Mastodon for Android is ad-free, posts have a 500-character limit increased, and is entirely community-driven.
This is the first official release of the Mastodon app for Android and includes all the core or basic functionality you’d expect from a social network, including notifications, search and community browsing. Sadly, unlike some existing third-party options, it lacks the ability to view a local or joint timeline.
Because it’s an open source project, there are many third-party clients, and this is the first official Mastodon app available through the Google Play Store (h/t XDA). Like all social networking apps, Mastodon is completely free to download and use. Elon Musk’s recent acquisition of a nearly 10% stake in Twitter and Mastodon’s massive growth in sign-ups means now is a good time to try it out for yourself.
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