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Social Media Terms
Decentralized

Decentralized

Decentralized social media is a network that runs across multiple independent servers, rather than one central organization.

What does decentralized mean in social media?

Decentralized social media isn’t owned by a single company or controlled by one central organization. Instead, it’s run across multiple independent servers, often by individual users or communities. Think of it as a network without a single authority in charge—users have more control over their data, privacy, and content, with no big tech giant calling the shots, like Meta for Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

How does decentralized social media work?

These platforms use protocols like ActivityPub, which allow different apps to communicate with each other. Imagine using Instagram but still being able to interact with friends on TikTok seamlessly. That’s the beauty of decentralization—your data stays with you, and different platforms “talk” to each other. It’s like sending an email from Gmail to Yahoo—they operate separately but still connect.

What social media platforms are decentralized?

Some of the most popular decentralized social media platforms are:

Mastodon, offering a X/Twitter-like experience without centralized control
Bluesky, which focuses on decentralization through its open AT Protocol
Pixelfed, which provides a photo-sharing platform similar to Instagram, and
PeerTube, which focuses on decentralized video hosting.

And with newer platforms like Meta’s Threads starting to plug into this space, the decentralized social world is expanding rapidly.

Bonus: Scheduling posts for decentralized platforms with Buffer

Buffer now makes it easy to schedule and manage content for the leading decentralized platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads. Get started for free or try our premium features with a 14-day trial!

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Resources

The Fediverse: A Beginner's Guide to Decentralized Social Networks

This article will introduce you to the fediverse, key decentralized platforms, and some reasons to get started.

From Platforms to Protocols: Making Sense of Decentralized Social Media (and What it Means for the Future)

A deep dive into the world of decentralized social media. Learn about the history of the phenomenon, the challenges these new platforms face, and what it all means for the future.

A Beginner’s Guide to Mastodon

Mastodon, a decentralized, open-source software that allows users to set up servers to communicate with each other, is growing in popularity as a “Twitter alternative”. This article provides a high-level overview of the platform: what it is and how it works.