Mastodon and Algorithms: Transparent, Simple, and User-Controlled
In a Nutshell
- Mastodon: decentralized, self-hosted social platform
- It has simple, transparent, user-controlled algorithms—like following hashtags, clear trending ranks, chronological timeline
- No hidden AI scans or data profiling
- Your feed depends on your follows, hashtags, and interactions
- Discovery is fairer—no pay-to-play or gameable algorithms
- Follows and hashtag searches make your content visible; no boosting needed
Full article
Mastodon is a self-hostable social platform built on a federated protocol, which makes it decentralized.
Some people say Mastodon “has no algorithms.” That’s not entirely true. It does—but they’re simple, transparent, and often under your control.
For example:
- You can follow specific hashtags to shape what you see.
- Trending hashtags are ranked, but it’s clear how.
- The timeline is chronological, not manipulated.
No hidden AI scans your posts to push “what’s most relevant,” and no data is harvested to build a profile of you. What shows up in your feed comes down to your own choices—who you follow, which hashtags you track, and how you engage.
Because discovery relies on hashtags instead of pay-to-play popularity systems, visibility feels fairer. If someone follows you or looks up a hashtag you’ve used, they’ll see your content. No gaming the algorithm, no money needed to “boost” it.
Mastodon isn’t algorithm-free—it just keeps things simple, transparent, and shaped by your choices.
