Mastodon Adds Lists Feature to Mobile App

Mastodon, the open source, decentralized alternative to Twitter/X, is adding a feature to its app that will help make the transition smoother for newcomers: Lists.

Previously, Mastodon users could only access the Lists feature via the web which made it difficult to keep up with topics the same way you could on Twitter, which has since been rebranded as X.

Mastodon’s user interface is also a bit more cumbersome on the web as you could only add and remove people from lists either by editing the list itself or from their user profile. But, in typical Mastodon fashion, the latter only worked if the user was on the same server (or “instance” in Mastodon parlance) as your own account.

Third-Party Mobile Apps Filled the Gap

Other third-party apps from indie developers and small startups stepped in to address the lack of lists on mobile. For example, apps like Tusky, Metatext, Ivory, Mammoth and more, now support lists on mobile more elegantly.

Mastodon’s own first-party mobile app didn’t offer access to lists until now. But mobile development at Mastodon has sped up since the hiring of additional developers last year, allowing Mastodon to play catch-up with Twitter/X.

Mastodon Explains the Advantages of Lists

In today’s announcement, the company explains that lists do more than allow you to curate topics around your interests — they also provide a way to declutter your home feed by limiting some accounts to lists, where you can engage with them “on your own terms.”

Lists could be helpful for subjects or interests you only want to track on occasion, as opposed to seeing every time you log on.

Mastodon’s Position in the Competition

The company has stayed in the running as a potential alternative to X as users look for other platforms to serve their microblogging needs.

Mastodon, however, has hung in there with some 1.7 million monthly active users as of this month.

Mastodon’s Funding and Growth

The company is not a traditional startup, as it operates as a nonprofit funded by donations, Patreon subscriptions, government grants and, more recently, merchandise sales.

Despite its small size and team, it’s managed to onboard several publishers, creators and users since Musk’s Twitter takeover, while also gaining integrations from other publishing startups, like Flipboard and Medium.