Eight Mastodon apps for iPhone

The post compares eight iPhone Mastodon/Fediverse apps against each other and against the official Twitter app for familiarity. It looks at cost, maintenance, cross-platform support, onboarding, timelines, search, profiles, media handling, notifications, privacy, and VoiceOver accessibility.

Reading notes

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• The review covers Fedi, Mast, the official Mastodon app, Mercury, Metatext, tooot, Toot!, and Tootle.
• Only Mast and Toot! cost money; Mercury and Tootle include tipping options.
• Fedi is dropped early because of poor polish and weak VoiceOver support.
• Metatext and Toot! give the clearest introduction to Mastodon for new users.
• The official Mastodon app has no Federated timeline, and the Local timeline is hidden under search as Community.
• Toot! and Tootle support multiple instances in ways the author finds easier to manage.
• All apps can show Home timelines, while support for Local and Federated timelines varies.
• Direct messages are just direct toots; several apps provide separate filtered views for them.
• VoiceOver support is uneven across the set, with no app handling accessibility perfectly.
• Search, profile views, media playback, content warnings, and translation support all differ noticeably between apps.
• Toot! and Metatext are the author’s personal favorites overall.
• Toot! is praised for its interface, transitions, character counting, and conversation threading.
• Metatext stands out for audio posting support and useful compose features.
• Mast has some useful translation features but is described as buggy and poorly maintained.
• The post ends by recommending that users choose based on which mix of features and omissions matters most to them.