Mastodon (Mobile App)

★★★☆☆

For someone new to Mastodon, or on a medium-to-big-server (but not following a lot of people), it’s a good place to start.

The signup flow is a compromise: Mastodon.social or pick from a list with filters showing sites that allow open registration. It’s both the Fediverse’s biggest strength that you can choose a server and its biggest barrier to adoption that you have to. I’d prefer a few more options on the entry screen, but I’ve seen enough “I couldn’t decide on an instance!” posts to know why there’s only one.

I had no trouble logging into my backup account at Wandering Shop. Or, for that matter, into my GoToSocial account. Any server software implementing the Mastodon API should work with it, and I’m glad to see that the app doesn’t restrict you to only using Mastodon servers.

It works smoothly, it’s mostly intuitive, and it can even switch smoothly between multiple accounts. If you’re logged into more than one, it will ask you which you want to use when sharing from another app.

It’s missing advanced features like the federated timeline or scheduled posts, and lists are only reachable through the menu. One of the reasons I’ve stuck with Tusky is that I can put lists on the toolbar and switch between “conversations” and “art” with a single tap.

I can see this being a “good enough” app for a lot of people depending on use case, so it’s either 3 stars or 4. But advanced users are probably better off using another app with more features like Tusky or Phanpy), or installing their server’s web interface to their phone as a web app.