Mastodon, the open source, decentralized social network, is introducing quote posts next week—a long-requested feature that also sparks debate. Quote posts let you reshare someone’s post with your own commentary. On other platforms, this format has sometimes fueled pile-ons and “dunking,” so Mastodon is rolling it out with built-in safeguards to encourage healthier conversations.
The goal, according to the platform, is to make quote posts a tool for expanding discussions, building connections, and amplifying underrepresented voices. To get there, Mastodon is giving users meaningful control over how quotes work across their timelines.
Key controls you can set:
– Who can quote you: Choose Anyone, Followers only, or Just me as your default.
– Where your quotes appear: Make quotes public, visible to followers only, or use quiet public, which keeps them public but removes them from search, trends, and the public timeline.
– Per-post overrides: Adjust visibility and interaction settings from the composer for individual posts—useful if you’re touching on a sensitive topic that could attract unwanted attention.
You’ll also retain control after someone quotes you. When your post is quoted, you’ll get a notification. From the Options menu (the three dots), you can remove your original post from that quote. You can also update your quote permissions for future posts or block specific users to stop them from seeing and quoting you.
The rollout starts over the coming week on larger servers such as mastodon.online and mastodon.social, with broader availability following in the Mastodon 4.5 software update. To create a quote, look for the new option under the Boost menu.
Because Mastodon lives within the wider fediverse—a network of servers running different software—quote posts may not appear everywhere right away. Some servers and apps will need to adopt the new technical specification before quotes are fully visible across the network.
With thoughtful defaults and granular controls, Mastodon is aiming to deliver the utility of quote posts without importing the worst parts of quote culture, giving users more ways to participate while staying in charge of their experience.
