Mastodon trends highlight popular hashtags, posts, and links in the Explore tab. These trends are computed algorithmically based on engagement signals like boosts, favorites, and replies. If you do not want your public posts to be considered for trending, you can enable a privacy flag that tells the server to exclude your content. This article explains how to opt out on the web interface and on mobile apps, and what the setting actually does.
Key Takeaways: Opting Out of Mastodon Trends
- Preferences > Profile > Appearance > Opt out of search engine indexing: This checkbox also prevents your posts from being included in trends calculations.
- Post visibility set to Unlisted or Followers-only: Posts that are not Public are never considered for trends, regardless of the opt-out setting.
- Server-side enforcement: The opt-out flag is respected by Mastodon 3.5 and later; older or modified servers may ignore it.
What the Mastodon Trends Opt-Out Setting Actually Does
Mastodon trends are generated by the server software. Each server administrator can enable or disable the Trends feature in the admin panel. When enabled, the server scans public posts for high engagement within a rolling time window. The algorithm looks at the ratio of boosts, favorites, and replies relative to the author’s follower count and the post’s age.
The opt-out setting is technically a flag stored in your account metadata. When this flag is set to true, the server’s trend computation code skips all of your public posts. The flag is stored per account, not per post. Once enabled, it applies to all future public posts. Past public posts may still be in the trend cache until the server refreshes its data, which usually happens every few hours.
Note that this setting is separate from search engine indexing. The checkbox labeled “Opt out of search engine indexing” controls both search engine robots and trend inclusion. There is no dedicated checkbox for trends alone in the standard Mastodon interface. The setting is part of the Profile section, not the Privacy section.
Steps to Opt Out of Trends on the Mastodon Web Interface
- Open your Preferences
Click the cogwheel icon in the top-right corner of the Mastodon web interface. Select Preferences from the dropdown menu. - Go to Profile settings
In the left sidebar, click Profile. This section contains your display name, bio, avatar, and appearance settings. - Find the Appearance subsection
Scroll down until you see the heading Appearance. It is located below the avatar and header image uploaders. - Enable the opt-out checkbox
Check the box labeled Opt out of search engine indexing. The label reads: “Opt out of search engine indexing. This prevents your profile from appearing in search engine results and your public posts from being used in trends.” - Save your changes
Click the Save changes button at the bottom of the page. A green confirmation banner appears at the top of the screen.
Steps to Opt Out of Trends on Mastodon Mobile Apps
The official Mastodon mobile apps for iOS and Android do not expose the opt-out checkbox directly. You must use the web interface to change this setting. After you enable it on the web, the setting syncs to your account and is respected by the mobile apps when they display trends.
If you use a third-party Mastodon client such as Tusky, Fedilab, or Mammoth, check the app’s settings for a similar option. Some third-party apps provide a direct toggle to exclude your posts from trends. When such a toggle is not available, open your instance’s web interface in the app’s built-in browser or in your device’s default browser.
- Log in to your instance via a browser
Open Safari, Chrome, or Firefox on your phone. Navigate to your Mastodon instance URL and sign in with your credentials. - Request the desktop site
Tap the browser menu and select Request Desktop Website. This displays the full web interface with the preferences sidebar. - Follow the web interface steps
Repeat the five steps listed in the previous section: Preferences > Profile > Appearance > check the opt-out box > Save changes.
What Happens After You Opt Out
After you save the setting, your future public posts are excluded from trend calculations. Existing public posts that were already trending may remain visible in the Explore tab for up to 24 hours, depending on your server’s cache refresh interval. Your posts are not removed from the public timeline or from search results within Mastodon. The setting only affects trend inclusion.
Your server administrator can override this setting. If your instance runs a modified version of Mastodon or a fork like GlitchSoc, the opt-out flag may be ignored. Check your instance’s documentation or contact your admin if you suspect the setting is not being honored.
Common Issues and Limitations
Posts Still Appear in Trends After Opting Out
If your posts continue to appear in trends, first verify that the checkbox is saved. Go back to Preferences > Profile > Appearance and confirm the box is checked. If it is, wait 24 hours for the server’s trend cache to expire. If the issue persists, your server may be running an older version of Mastodon that does not support the opt-out flag. Mastodon 3.5 introduced this feature. Servers on version 3.4 or earlier ignore the flag.
Opt-Out Setting Not Available in Some Third-Party Apps
The official Mastodon web interface is the only place where the opt-out checkbox is guaranteed to be present. Third-party apps may not include this option in their settings screens. Use the web interface as described above. The setting is stored server-side and applies to all apps that connect to your account.
Private Posts Are Still Eligible for Trends
This is a misconception. Mastodon trends only include posts with Public visibility. Posts set to Unlisted, Followers-only, or Direct are never scanned for trends. If you want to guarantee your posts never trend, set the default post visibility to Unlisted in Preferences > Posting defaults > Default post privacy. This does not require the opt-out checkbox at all.
Mastodon Trends Opt-Out vs Post Visibility
| Item | Opt-Out Checkbox Enabled | Post Visibility Set to Unlisted |
|---|---|---|
| Effect on trends | Excludes all future public posts from trends | Excludes all posts from trends because they are not Public |
| Effect on search engines | Blocks search engine indexing of profile and posts | Does not block search engines; search engines may still index public posts |
| Effect on public timeline | Posts still appear in local and federated timelines | Posts do not appear in public timelines |
| Effect on followers | Followers see posts in their home feed normally | Followers see posts in their home feed normally |
| Server override possible | Yes, if server runs modified code | No, visibility is always enforced by the server |
Opting out via the checkbox is the targeted method for trend exclusion without reducing your post’s discoverability on public timelines. Changing post visibility to Unlisted is a stronger privacy choice that also removes your content from the public timeline entirely.
To opt out of Mastodon trends, open Preferences > Profile > Appearance and enable the checkbox labeled “Opt out of search engine indexing.” This single setting prevents your public posts from being considered by the trend algorithm. For immediate exclusion, set your default post privacy to Unlisted. Verify the setting after 24 hours if your posts still appear in the Explore tab. Contact your server administrator if the opt-out flag is not respected.