How to Test ActivityPub Compliance of a Threads Profile

If you have enabled fediverse sharing on your Threads profile, you might want to confirm that other platforms such as Mastodon can actually see your posts. Without proper ActivityPub compliance, your public Threads content will not federate, meaning it stays invisible to users on other servers. This article explains how to verify that your Threads profile is correctly implementing the ActivityPub protocol. You will learn a series of manual checks and tools to confirm federation is working.

What ActivityPub Compliance Means for Threads Profiles

ActivityPub is a decentralized social networking protocol that allows different platforms to exchange content. When a Threads profile is ActivityPub compliant, other servers like Mastodon, Pleroma, or PeerTube can fetch your profile information and public posts. This compliance is not automatic. You must first enable the fediverse sharing feature in your Threads settings.

Once enabled, your Threads profile gains an ActivityPub actor endpoint. This endpoint is a URL that returns machine-readable JSON describing your profile. Other servers use this endpoint to discover who you are and to retrieve your public posts. If the endpoint is missing or returns errors, your profile is not compliant.

Compliance also requires that your Threads posts are set to public. Private or followers-only posts will not federate even if the fediverse sharing toggle is on. The protocol only forwards content that is explicitly marked as public on the source platform.

Steps to Verify ActivityPub Compliance of Your Threads Profile

Follow these steps to test whether your Threads profile is properly federating. Each step targets a different layer of the protocol.

Method 1: Check the Fediverse Sharing Setting

Before any testing, confirm the feature is active on your account.

1. Open Threads settings
   Tap your profile icon in the bottom right corner. Then tap the two lines icon in the top right corner and select Settings.
2. Navigate to Privacy
   In the Settings menu, tap Privacy.
3. Locate Fediverse sharing
   Scroll down to the Fediverse sharing option. If it is toggled off, tap it to turn it on. A green toggle indicates the feature is active.
4. Confirm the setting is saved
   Exit the settings menu and return to your profile. The setting persists without additional confirmation.

Method 2: Search for Your Profile on Mastodon

Mastodon can directly search for remote ActivityPub profiles. This is the simplest way to see if your Threads profile is discoverable.

1. Open any Mastodon instance
   Use a web browser to go to a Mastodon server such as mastodon.social or joinmastodon.org. You do not need to log in.
2. Paste your full Threads profile URL
   In the Mastodon search bar, type or paste your complete Threads profile URL. For example, https://www.threads.net/@yourusername. Press Enter.
3. Observe the search result
   If the profile is compliant, Mastodon will display your account name and a list of your recent public posts. If you see an error like “No results found” or a blank page, federation is not working.
4. Check the profile details
   Click on the displayed account to view your bio, avatar, and posts. This confirms that Mastodon successfully fetched the data via ActivityPub.

Method 3: Access the ActivityPub Actor Endpoint Directly

Every ActivityPub profile has a machine-readable actor JSON file. You can fetch this file manually.

1. Construct the actor URL
   Take your Threads profile URL and append /actor to the end. For example, https://www.threads.net/@yourusername/actor.
2. Open the URL in a browser
   Paste the constructed URL into your browser address bar and press Enter.
3. Examine the JSON response
   A compliant profile returns a JSON object with fields such as @context, id, type, preferredUsername, inbox, and outbox. The type should be Person. If you see an HTML page or an error, the endpoint is not active.
4. Check the outbox URL
   Within the JSON, locate the outbox field. Copy that URL and open it in a new tab. It should return a list of your public posts in JSON format. An empty outbox or a 404 error indicates that posts are not being federated.

If Your Threads Profile Fails Compliance Tests

Several issues can prevent your profile from passing these tests. The fixes are usually straightforward.

Fediverse Sharing Is Not Enabled

The most common cause is that the fediverse sharing toggle is off. Go back to Settings > Privacy > Fediverse sharing and confirm it is green. After enabling it, wait a few minutes and repeat the Mastodon search.

Posts Are Not Set to Public

ActivityPub only forwards public posts. Check your recent posts. If any have a lock icon or are marked as visible to followers only, they will not appear in the Mastodon search results. Change the audience to public for posts you want to federate. Note that existing private posts will not retroactively federate.

Threads Server Is Experiencing Delays

Federation is not instantaneous. After enabling the feature or posting new content, allow up to 15 minutes for the data to propagate. If after 30 minutes the tests still fail, try again later. Server-side caching can also cause temporary delays.

Threads vs Mastodon: ActivityPub Compliance Compared

Item	Threads	Mastodon
Default federation	Opt-in via Settings > Privacy	Always on for public posts
Actor endpoint format	/actor appended to profile URL	/users/username returns actor JSON
Post visibility control	Public only (followers-only posts excluded)	Public, unlisted, followers-only, direct
Profile discovery via search	Requires exact profile URL	Accepts username@domain or full URL
Outbox includes all public posts	Yes, after federation is enabled	Yes, by default

Testing ActivityPub compliance on your Threads profile is a quick process. Use the Mastodon search bar as your primary check. For deeper verification, access the actor endpoint directly. If any test fails, confirm the fediverse sharing toggle is on and that your posts are public. Once everything passes, your Threads content will be visible across the fediverse.