After moving your Mastodon account to a new instance, you need to confirm that followers, follows, and other data actually transferred. Many users assume the migration worked automatically, but partial failures can leave followers behind or break the redirect from your old profile. This article explains exactly which settings to check and what the migration process does and does not move. You will learn how to verify every component of a Mastodon account migration so you can confirm the move completed without data loss.
Key Takeaways: Verifying a Mastodon Account Migration
- Preferences > Account > Move from a different account: Starts the follower migration handshake between the old and new Mastodon instance.
- Old profile redirect banner: Confirms the redirect is active and shows the new account address to visitors.
- Follower count on new profile: Compare against the final follower count on the old profile before migration to spot missing followers.
What Mastodon Account Migration Moves and Does Not Move
Mastodon account migration uses a server-to-server handshake to transfer your social graph. When you initiate a move from your old account, the old instance sends a Move activity to the new instance. The new instance then sends a Follow activity back to each of your followers on their home instances. The followers receive a request to follow your new account automatically. This process is not instant. It can take minutes to hours depending on how many followers you have and how fast the remote instances process the activity.
The migration moves followers and the list of accounts you follow. It does not move your posts, media, lists, bookmarks, or direct messages. Those remain on the old instance. The old account is redirected to the new account via a banner and a redirect in the profile metadata. The old account cannot post new content after migration. You must export and import your lists separately if you want to keep them.
What Gets Transferred During Migration
The following items transfer automatically when you use the Move from a different account feature:
- Followers — people who follow your old account
- Following list — accounts your old account followed
- Profile redirect — visitors to the old profile see a banner pointing to the new account
- Display name and bio — if you choose to copy them during setup
What Does Not Transfer
These items stay on the old instance and are not moved:
- Toots and media attachments
- Direct messages
- Bookmarks and favorites
- Lists
- Muted and blocked accounts
- Account settings and preferences
Steps to Verify the Migration Completed Correctly
Follow these steps in order to confirm every part of the migration worked. Perform each check on both the old instance and the new instance.
- Check the old profile redirect banner
Open the old account URL in a browser you are not logged into. Look for the yellow banner at the top of the profile that says “This account has moved to @username@newinstance.social.” Click the link to confirm it opens your new profile. If the banner is missing, the redirect was not set up or the old instance did not process the move request. - Compare follower counts before and after migration
Before you start the migration, write down the follower count displayed on the old profile. After migration completes, check the follower count on the new profile. The number should match or be very close. A difference of one or two is normal because some remote instances may not process the Move activity. A difference of dozens or hundreds means the migration failed for those followers. - Verify the following list transferred
On the new account, open the Following page. Scroll through the list to confirm key accounts you followed on the old account are present. If entire groups of accounts are missing, the migration may have timed out or the old instance had a server error during the move. - Check a few specific followers from the old account
Ask a trusted follower to visit your new profile and confirm they see the Follow button as “Following” not “Follow.” If they see “Follow,” the Move activity did not reach their instance. They can manually follow your new account. - Confirm the old account is locked from posting
Try to post from the old account. You should see a message that the account has moved and posting is disabled. If you can still post, the migration did not complete. You must re-run the move procedure from the old account settings. - Check the server logs on the old instance
If you are the instance administrator, check the Sidekiq logs for the Move activity. Look for entries with status “processed” or “delivered.” If you see errors or retries, the migration failed for some followers. Administrators can retry failed deliveries from the admin panel under Admin > Sidekiq > Retries. - Export and compare the followers list
On the old account go to Preferences > Import and Export > Export. Download the CSV file for followers. On the new account, do the same. Open both files in a spreadsheet application. Compare the account addresses column. Any address in the old list but missing from the new list indicates a follower that did not migrate.
Common Migration Verification Problems
Follower Count on New Account Is Much Lower Than Expected
A large difference in follower count usually means the Move activity failed for many remote instances. This can happen if the old instance had a high rate of failed deliveries or if the new instance was temporarily unreachable during the migration. To fix this, check the Sidekiq queue on the old instance for failed Move deliveries. Retry them from the admin panel. If you are not an administrator, contact the old instance admin and ask them to retry the migration.
Old Profile Shows No Redirect Banner
If the yellow banner does not appear on the old profile, the redirect was not configured during the migration setup. Go to Preferences > Account on the old account. Under “Move to a different account,” enter the new account address again and confirm the password. This re-sends the redirect request. The banner should appear within a few minutes.
Some Followers Report Being Unfollowed From the Old Account
When a migration succeeds, followers are unfollowed from the old account and re-follow the new account. If a follower says they were unfollowed but did not receive a follow request for the new account, the Move activity may have been rejected by their instance. Ask the follower to manually search for your new account and follow it. This is a limitation of the ActivityPub protocol and cannot be fixed from your side.
Following List Is Empty After Migration
An empty following list means the move request did not include the following data. This can happen if you used an older version of Mastodon that did not support following transfer. Go back to the old account and re-run the migration. In the migration dialog, make sure the option to transfer follows is checked. If the old account is already locked, you cannot re-run the migration. You must manually follow each account again on the new instance.
| Item | Before Migration | After Migration |
|---|---|---|
| Follower count | Record the exact number from old profile | Compare to new profile count |
| Following list | Note a few key accounts | Verify those accounts appear on new profile |
| Old profile redirect banner | Not present | Yellow banner with link to new account |
| Posting ability on old account | Enabled | Disabled with migration notice |
| Follower CSV export | Download from old account | Download from new account and compare |
Use this table as a checklist. Mark each item as verified after you confirm the corresponding check passes.
Conclusion
You can now verify every aspect of a Mastodon account migration by checking the redirect banner, comparing follower counts, and reviewing the following list. If any check fails, re-run the migration from the old account or ask the instance administrator to retry failed Move deliveries. For administrators, monitoring the Sidekiq queue for Move activities provides the most reliable view of migration success. Remember that lists, bookmarks, and direct messages do not transfer and must be handled separately through export and import.