How to Delete a Post on Mastodon Permanently

You posted something on Mastodon and now you want it gone. Unlike editing a typo, deleting a post removes it from your profile, your followers’ home feeds, and the federated timeline. Mastodon does not keep a recycle bin or trash folder — once you confirm deletion, the post is gone from the server. This article explains exactly how to delete any post from the web interface and mobile apps, what happens to replies and boosts, and how to handle bulk deletion if you need to remove many posts at once.

What Happens When You Delete a Mastodon Post

When you delete a post from your Mastodon instance, the server sends a delete request to every other instance that received the post. This is part of the ActivityPub protocol. In most cases, the post disappears from remote servers within seconds. However, some servers may cache the post and not honor the delete request immediately. A small number of instances may ignore the deletion entirely. This is a known limitation of federation.

Deleting a post does not remove replies that other users wrote. If someone replied to your post, their reply remains visible on their profile and in the conversation thread. Your original post becomes a placeholder that reads “[deleted]” or disappears entirely depending on the client. Boosts of your post are also removed — Mastodon automatically unboosts the post from all users who boosted it.

Media attached to the post is deleted along with the post. Mastodon does not keep a separate copy of the image or video after deletion. Links to external websites are not affected — the link itself is just text.

Steps to Delete a Single Post on Mastodon

You can delete any post you authored from the web interface or the official Mastodon mobile app. You cannot delete posts written by other people.

Delete from the Web Interface

1. Open the post you want to delete
   Navigate to your profile or the home feed. Click the post to open its detail view or work directly from the timeline.
2. Click the three-dot icon
   Look for the three-dot icon at the bottom-right of the post. It appears near the reply, boost, and favorite buttons.
3. Select Delete
   From the dropdown menu, click Delete. A confirmation dialog appears asking “Delete this post?”
4. Confirm deletion
   Click Delete in the confirmation dialog. The post disappears immediately from your timeline and profile.

Delete from the Mastodon Mobile App (iOS and Android)

1. Locate the post
   Scroll to the post in your home feed or tap your profile icon to see your own posts.
2. Tap the three-dot menu
   Tap the three-dot icon at the bottom of the post. On some interfaces, this icon is at the top-right of the post.
3. Tap Delete
   From the popup menu, tap Delete. A confirmation prompt appears.
4. Confirm the deletion
   Tap Delete on the confirmation prompt. The post is removed from your account.

Using Delete & Redraft

If you want to keep the text but fix a typo or rephrase content, use the Delete & Redraft option instead of Delete. This action deletes the original post and opens a new compose box pre-filled with the original text, media, and content warning. You can edit the content and post again. The new post gets a new timestamp and a fresh URL. Any replies and boosts from the original post are lost.

1. Open the three-dot menu on the post
   Same location as the Delete option.
2. Select Delete & Redraft
   The post is deleted and a new compose window appears with the original content.
3. Edit and post
   Make your changes and click Publish. The new post appears in your timeline.

How to Delete Multiple Posts at Once

Mastodon does not provide a built-in bulk delete tool. To remove many posts, you must use a third-party tool or a manual API approach. These methods are not officially supported and may violate your instance’s terms of service. Use them at your own risk.

Using a Third-Party Tool

Tools like Mastodon Post Deleter or Fedicheck can delete posts in bulk based on date range, keyword, or post type. To use one of these tools:

1. Go to the tool’s website
   Open a browser and navigate to the tool’s URL. For example, mastodon-post-deleter.vercel.app.
2. Enter your Mastodon instance domain
   Type the full domain of your instance, such as mastodon.social.
3. Authorize the tool
   Click the authorization button. You are redirected to your instance to approve access. The tool receives a token to read and delete your posts.
4. Set deletion criteria
   Choose a date range, keyword filter, or select all posts. Most tools allow you to preview posts before deletion.
5. Run the deletion
   Click the delete button. The tool sends delete requests for each matching post.

Using the Mastodon API Directly

If you are comfortable with command-line tools, you can use curl or a script to call the Mastodon API. You need an access token with the write:statuses scope. The API endpoint for deleting a single post is DELETE /api/v1/statuses/:id. You must loop through post IDs to delete multiple posts. This method is tedious and error-prone for non-developers.

Common Issues and Limitations When Deleting Posts

Deleted Post Still Visible on Other Instances

Some remote servers may cache your post and not process the delete request. This is rare but happens if the remote instance is misconfigured or offline. You cannot force those servers to remove the post. The best prevention is to avoid posting sensitive content that cannot be retracted.

Replies to Your Deleted Post Remain

Deleting your post does not delete replies from other users. If someone quoted your post, their post stays up with a broken reference. To remove a reply, you must ask the author to delete it or report it to your instance moderator.

Delete & Redraft Resets Engagement

Using Delete & Redraft removes all favorites, boosts, and replies from the original post. The new post starts with zero engagement. If you only need to fix a typo, consider using the Edit feature instead. Mastodon added post editing in version 4.0. Check your instance version before choosing Delete & Redraft.

Bulk Deletion Tools May Rate-Limit Your Account

Your Mastodon instance may rate-limit API calls if you send too many delete requests in a short time. This can temporarily block you from posting or deleting. Run bulk deletions slowly or use a tool that respects rate limits.

Item	Delete	Delete & Redraft
Removes post from timeline	Yes	Yes
Preserves text for editing	No	Yes
Removes replies	No	No
Removes boosts	Yes	Yes
Creates a new post URL	No	Yes
Requires confirmation	Yes	Yes

You can now delete any Mastodon post from the web interface or mobile app using the three-dot menu. For bulk cleanup, use a third-party tool but be aware of rate limits and federation delays. To avoid losing engagement, use Edit instead of Delete & Redraft when you only need to fix a small mistake. The Delete & Redraft option is best reserved for posts that need a complete rewrite or a corrected content warning.