:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24449795/STK140_Mastodon_K_Radtke_01.jpeg)
Mastodon, the decentralized Twitter / X alternative, is adding lists to its Android app, according to a blog post from CEO and founder Eugen Rochko. Lists are available as part of the most recent Mastodon for Android update.
“With the new update, you now have the ability to create custom lists and categorize your follows based on specific topics or interests, while removing them from your home feed,” Rochko writes. “This not only helps in decluttering your home feed but also allows you to engage with certain topics on your own terms, when you are ready.” The update also has a redesigned home tab to make it easier to navigate between your home feed, lists, and hashtags, Rochko says.
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25044823/hero.png)
Rochko didn’t specify if or when lists might arrive on iOS (they’re already available on the web). The feature is coming to iOS, but according to spokesperson Renaud Chaput, “we are currently refactoring the app to solve some performance and crash issues, so the work is taking a bit longer than on our Android version.”
Rochko adds that “our iOS and web teams are also working steadily on new features and improvements.”
These are relatively small updates, but for people who love Mastodon, lists could be a really useful feature. I had a handful of lists on X, formerly Twitter, that I used to rely on quite a bit; they were a really handy way to get updates from people and accounts you didn’t want to always show up in your home feed.
Mastodon has steadily been making improvements, such as better search and onboarding and pointing new users toward making accounts on mastodon.social (Mastodon’s largest server). But even though X isn’t the platform it once was, Mastodon, which is powered by ActivityPub, is facing fierce competition from other Twitter alternatives like Bluesky (which is building its own decentralized social networking protocol) and Meta’s Threads (which has promised to eventually integrate with ActivityPub).
Update October 30th, 2:31PM ET: Added context about Mastodon lists on iOS and web.
Correction October 30th, 2:31PM ET: Lists are already available on the web. We regret the error.
