Mastodon Introduces Quote Retweets with Safety Controls

Mastodon, an open-source decentralized alternative to X, is set to launch a controversial new feature: quote retweets. This feature, which allows users to quote and share others' posts with their own comments, is scheduled to go live next week. On X, this feature has given rise to a culture of "mocking quote retweets," where users respond to others with sarcastic or insulting remarks, often to ridicule them.

To address this issue, Mastodon has announced that it will introduce quote retweets with built-in safety controls. The platform aims to guide users to responsibly use this feature, expanding discussion scope, building new connections, and amplifying the voices of minority groups.

Mastodon offers users multiple ways to control who can quote retweet their posts. Users can set default options to determine who has the right to quote their posts: "everyone," "followers only," or "only myself." Additionally, users can control the visibility of quote retweets, setting them to be "publicly visible," "visible to followers only," or choosing the "silent public" mode, where quote retweets are visible to the public but removed from Mastodon's search results, trending topics, and public timeline.

Users can also adjust these default settings for individual posts in the post editing interface under "visibility and interaction settings." This feature is particularly useful when users know they are about to post content that may spark controversy or attract unwanted attention from those with opposing views.

Mastodon also emphasizes that users retain control over their posts even after they have been quote retweeted. When someone quote retweets a post, the original poster receives a notification and can choose to remove their original post from the quote retweet. This action can be performed through the "options" menu (three-dot icon). Users can also modify quote settings to regulate future quote retweets of their posts and block specific users from viewing or quoting their posts.

Starting next week, Mastodon's major servers (mastodon.online and mastodon.social) will be the first to support the quote retweet feature. This functionality will then be rolled out to all users with the Mastodon 4.5 software update. Users can find the new quote retweet option under Mastodon's "boost" feature, similar to X's "retweet" function. However, due to the decentralized nature of the "federated universe" (fediverse), which consists of servers running different software, the quote retweet feature may not be immediately available on all platforms, and some platforms may not update their technical specifications to support the feature right away.