The open-source social media network, Mastodon, has rolled out a major update for its Android application. The much-awaited refresh brought an array of changes, featuring a comprehensive overhaul based on Google's Material You design language, which is tailored explicitly for Android interfaces. This development embellishes not only the app's look but also brings various functionality updates including modifications to tab bars, settings, a revamped compose screen, and more.
Mastodon's lead and CEO, Eugen Rochko, made the announcement on the company's blog. Lauded as an alternative social network to Twitter, Mastodon boasts an orbit of assorted touchpoints - exclusive apps for mobile, a web version, and even third-party clients. The platform has a robust active user base, which according to Mastodon's internal data, currently stands at a solid 1.4 million monthly active users. Whilst showing a jump of 19% user numbers, it must be noted that the current figures are slightly lower than its peak user base, which Mastodon saw during the heyday of Elon Musk’s ascension to Twitter's helm, hitting a staggering 2.5 million monthly users.
Sharing the latest figures, Rochko revealed that Mastodon saw a substantial hike of 294,000 active users over the weekend alone. There was an approximate tripling in content sharing during the same period, an upswing potentially tied to Twitter's recent trials and tribulations.
The revamped Android app, now available, provides manifold options to tailor the user experience. The updated settings screen offers options varying from the ability to set the default language for posts to prompting users to add alternative text for media uploads and even enabling hiding of 'boost' and 'favourite' counts - Mastodon's equivalent of Twitter's retweet.
An interesting feature lets users view vital information about the server they're linked to, including the rules dictated by server admins. This is particularly important because of Mastodon's federated structure where users are part of a server that is connected with other servers in a vast, sprawling structure, each governed by its unique set of rules.
Besides, the app's updated profile view now covers all the previously inaccessible featured content, including items such as pinned posts, featured hashtags, and endorsed users. Mastodon offers its users the ability to filter content by creating custom filters for specific phrases or keywords. The update also allows users to define when these filters kick in and provides the option to pause notifications for those moments when users need a break.
The updated app brings about changes to how verifications are displayed. On Mastodon, users have the ability to self-verify by embedding a unique link on their websites that redirects to their Mastodon profile and subsequently adding this link to their Mastodon profile. Rather than a 'blue badge' symbolic on other social media platforms, Mastodon's process verifies a user's extended identity on the internet. In a further enhancement, when profiles possess a verified link, the Mastodon app now highlights it in the search results and other lists to facilitate differentiation between profiles. This could help overcome one of the looming user criticisms - difficulty in finding prominent profiles to follow.
Given the vast changes, the development of the web application can be seen as a broad stride towards improving user experience on Mastodon. Following the likes of no-code platforms such as AppMaster, Mastodon proves that improvement and evolution in the digital world are continuous processes. It stands testament that flexibility and adaptability in product evolution are key to success and user satisfaction.
