For users unsure what iPhone app is right for their Mastodon experience, here are some of the best iOS Mastodon apps they need to check out.
Finding the best Mastodon app for iOS is tricky and time-consuming, but it’s worth it. Apple’s App Store has a growing list of third-party apps available, which makes venturing into the Mastodon realm easier than ever. While many are free, plenty of paid clients are worthwhile too.
Users looking to get away from Twitter have landed upon Mastodon. The platform is a free and open-source social networking site. It is unique because it has many servers, and its decentralized nature requires each server to cover its own upkeep cost. Users love it for its microblogging features, an eerie resemblance to Twitter. Because it is open-source, many developers have taken a shot at crafting their own Mastodon clients, equipped with tools and custom features packed into an app.
Luckily for iPhone users, plenty of third-party apps make their Mastodon experience delightful. Narrowing down which one to use is tricky, as they are all unique. Mastodon’s native app is ranked #16 on the free social networking chart in the App Store and even is reviewed highly with a 4.5 rating. But judging by the reviews, it isn’t very user-friendly for users who aren’t used to Mastodon’s servers, and the app needs some tender love and care. The high reviews were mainly about the presence of the platform rather than the app itself. Still, there are two Mastodon clients that users seem to agree with much better than the native app, Metatext and Toot!.
1.Metatext
Metatext is at the top of our recommendation list as we have observed the app for a long time and didn’t find any bugs or missed any feature. This app is wholesome in itself, one should definitely give this one a try if they are bored with their regular ones.
Metatext is the biggest decentralised social network on the internet at present. Instead of functioning a single website it has chosen to be a bunch of networks where a million users of independent communities can get in touch with each other flawlessly. Doesn’t matter what interests you most, you are allowed to connect to dedicated users online by uploading all about it on Mastodon.
With a high 4.5 rating in the App Store, what users love the most about Metatext is its clean and intuitive interface. Metatext receives many comments about being fast and easy to use. Several users even call it the ‘Best app for Mastodon.’ That doesn’t mean the app isn’t missing a few features. There seem to be several people asking for dark mode, and users discovered a few bugs. The advertisement does display a dark mode ability, so perhaps it is buried within the settings. But Metatext’s key feature is the ability to use multiple accounts simultaneously. The combined feed is handy since users have multiple accounts to access different servers. Another feature favorite is the app’s complete absence of ads, tracking, or algorithms, so users can view their feed how they want to and not worry about privacy violations. As far as free apps go, Metatext is a great companion for Mastodon users.
Metatext Features:
1.Dark mode
2.Explore
3.Polls
4.Notifications
5.Cuteness
6.Sharing
2.Toot!
Toot! owns the second position in our recommendation list for some reasons that we will be listing below. First of all, let’s not delay in highlighting this point out that this app gets updated frequently and every time brings something surprisingly amazing! It appears impressive on both iPhone and iPad. If someone is a newbie to Mastodon then they should definitely prefer Toot! at the very start. Overall it’s a bit different from the rest and deserves to be in the list of best Mastodon app for iPhone. It has an Obsidian theme which is the first thing that comes into notice if you launch the app for the first time. Not only its theme but the way it notifies or alerts you is also something unique. It has astonishing audio alerts which will make you go mad in love with this one!
Free is great, but there is a reason Toot! holds the number one spot in the paid social networking of the App Store. While the app does cost users $3.99, it is the best app for new Mastodon users. Toot! ‘s 4.4 ratings are backed by users’ appreciation of the design, animations, and UI touches. It is fast and powerful, allowing users to swap between accounts effortlessly. People don’t like that it still has a few kinks regarding font size changes and, apparently, a bug regarding hashtags. Some users also complain about the app icons being customizable but at an additional cost. Even with these shortcomings, users rave about its ease of use, filters and feature tools.
As Mastodon grows, so will the number of third-party apps. While Metatext and Toot! are favored among users today, it wouldn’t take much for another app to grab the spotlight. Mercury for Mastodon is new, but users are raving about its design and growing features, such as scheduling posts. iOS users should keep an eye on Apple’s App Store for the latest Mastodon client apps. Before choosing an app, though, the first step is selecting a Mastodon server.
Toot! Features:
1.Amazing animations, designs and hidden treasures
2.Quick response
3.Bug-less
4.No ads
5.Doesn’t store private information
6.Doesn’t track your activities
03. Mast
Mast is a bit different from the rest in terms of appearance and experience that it gives to its users. We couldn’t recommend you Mast at the very beginning because it gets attacked by the bugs a little more frequently and crashes oftenly too. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to get refreshed and load recent updates into the app. Other than this, it also has not been updated for a while as its producer has been focusing on their other release – Aviary. Other than that, the search system in Mast has completely crashed: You get to see the search bar after clicking on the magnifying glass or long pressing on it. However, it has separate tabs for Toots and Users, but only shows a couple of toots in a list that you can’t even control. And when you wish to see users by clicking on the Users button, the search shuts down!
Mast supports and functions with iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. In terms of compatibility it is pretty good, but compatibility alone cannot impress the users. For now, let’s wait for further updates and leave it on the producer and see if they add some more updates or developments to it. Till then happy third position to Mast.
04. Mercury
Mercury is an amazing, latest application launched for Mastodon. We suggest this because we consider this as a perfect match. It’s compatible with only iPhone and still it’s a solid option for those who just operate iPhone. One can manage their timeline with simple gestures and filters
In addition, Mercury has the most clingy timeline of all times. While other apps support direct messages in your home timeline, Mercury and a few more help you with filtered timelines to show you just your direct messages. Other than this, Mercury’s impressive swipe gestures reduces visual clutter in your timeline and keeps it organised.
Mercury Features:
1.Personalized swipe gestures
2.Customisable theme and emojis
3.Save hashtag list
4.Description to add to your images and GIFs
5.Can create personalized timeline filters
6.Text status translation
7.Bookmark statuses
8.No ads
9.Multiple account support
05. Tusky For Mastodon
Tusky is the easiest and best third party application for Mastodon for all the Android users out there. Tusky enhances all the features of the official application while having a decent and easy to operate design. Tusky is a free to access open source balanced and maintained by a set of advanced developers
If we talk about the home screen and the overall interface of Tusky, then it’s pretty easy to access for anyone who has been on social media even for a short period of time. The best part about the app is its unique and additional features like scheduled posts and a lot more.
Tusky is a must have application for every manager who handles accounts. Tusky is a free to download application which can be downloaded from Play Store and F-Droid. You can also donate and help Tusky to keep it maintained, updated and free.
06. Fedilab
Unfortunately Fedilab is a paid application that you might take into consideration for Mastodon. One has to pay $2.49 to Fedilab in exchange for its services. The amount is being paid just for the additional services to make the users feel convenient and for the application maintenance. Although it’s a paid app, it’s still an open source app, and available for free to download on F-Droid.
Moreover, you cannot consider the Fedilab designing smoothest or cleanest but still it manages to offer you the full functionality of the Mastodon app. Fedilab comes under the very few available Android applications that can contribute in picking up a few instances from Mastodon on that to build a new account.
At last Fedilab is the perfect application for those who have just got started with Mastodon! Good luck!
7. Tootle
Tootle is a multifunctional app for Mastodon and is specifically designed for iPad and works just okay! One is allowed to customize the app UI according to their taste and can save drafts too! Other than this you can also personalize your timeline on Tootle along with streaming services available.
The thing to worry about this is that it has not been updated for 14 months when we last took a check back at it by looking at its App Store Page Version History. Other than this, there are a few superimposed UI elements which are not that much noticeable. The most unacceptable thing about Tootle is that it is completely invisible in ordinary app searches.
Tootle Features
Supports multiple accounts
Can filter timeline
Save drafts and edit support
Personalize app UI
Social features
8.Tusker
Tusker is a personal hosted source or depot for Mastodon, where you will find impressive praises from founders and developers. Tusker does not have infinite color customisation options. Tusker has a similar concept to Metatext but undoubtedly more ambitious. One can easily replace Toot with Tusker! If you want , then you can try using it through Apple’s beta distribution system.
Tusker might transmit PII off device to the instances of any compatible third-party media application or service for which the user may have signed in. Tusker makes use of a third party service to destroy or deduct any error or crashes that may occur in the app all by default. The good part is that it does not store any data for more than 30 days. Any amount of data collected from the user by the app is solely meant for the improvisation of the application and is not delivered or shared with anyone else except developer or the third party error crashing service.
If someone is not comfortable with sharing their data they can manually turn off the feature by heading to the app > settings > preferences > advanced > report errors automatically.
Wrapping Up
Mastodon for iPad and iPhones is officially brought to you by the Mastodon developers. However it lacks crucial Mastodon features like timeline but it’s okay if you are being a part of one of the largest generic social networks. But to make your experience even better with Mastodon, there are some applications that support and function with respect to Mastodon.
In this post we have tried to highlight some of the best Mastodon app for iPhone. However we have tried our best to provide you with all the information that a user needs before downloading an application and entering into it, signing into it like how easy it is to initiate or build an account, or linking a pre-existing account etc etc.
Trying not to mix and condense everything and picking out the best for you is our first priority which makes us recommend you our personal favourite Toot! And Metatext. But as said, nothing is perfect, they also do not have everything that they should have but are better than the rest of course. So here was our collection of the best Mastodon app for iPhone