How to Set a Default Post Privacy on a Mastodon Account

Every time you compose a new post on Mastodon, you must choose who can see it. By default, Mastodon sets this to Public. If you frequently post privately or to followers only, changing this default saves you from manually selecting the privacy level each time. This article explains how to change the default post privacy setting for your Mastodon account using the web interface and official mobile apps.

Understanding Mastodon Post Privacy Levels

Mastodon offers four privacy levels for each post. The level you choose determines who can view the post and whether it appears in public timelines.

Public

A Public post appears on the local timeline, the federated timeline, and in search results. Anyone on any instance can see it. This is the default setting on most Mastodon servers.

Unlisted

An Unlisted post does not appear on public timelines. However, anyone who has the link or follows you can view it. It remains accessible to anyone who knows where to look.

Followers-only

Only your followers can see a Followers-only post. It does not appear in public timelines or search. Non-followers see no trace of the post.

Direct

A Direct post is sent only to specific usernames mentioned in the post. It acts like a private message. No one else can see it. Mastodon displays a warning that Direct posts are not end-to-end encrypted and can be read by server administrators.

Changing the Default Post Privacy in the Web Interface

Use these steps if you access Mastodon through a browser on a computer or tablet. The web interface offers the most complete settings panel.

1. Open your Mastodon settings
   Click the gear icon or your profile avatar in the bottom-left corner of the Mastodon web interface. A menu appears. Select Preferences from that menu.
2. Navigate to the Other section
   On the Preferences page, look at the left sidebar. Scroll down until you see Other. Click it. The right panel now shows several options related to posting behavior.
3. Find Default post privacy
   In the right panel, locate the dropdown labeled Default post privacy. The current value is shown. Click the dropdown to see all four options: Public, Unlisted, Followers-only, and Direct.
4. Select your new default
   Click the privacy level you want as your new default. For example, click Followers-only if you want all future posts to be visible only to your followers by default.
5. Save the change
   Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Save changes button. A green confirmation bar appears at the top of the page. Your new default is now active.

Changing the Default Post Privacy in the Mastodon Mobile App (iOS and Android)

The official Mastodon mobile app for iOS and Android provides a similar setting. The menu path differs slightly from the web version.

1. Open the app settings
   Tap your profile avatar in the bottom-right corner of the screen. On the profile page, tap the gear icon in the top-right corner to open Settings.
2. Go to Posting preferences
   In the Settings menu, scroll down and tap Posting preferences. This section contains all options related to composing posts.
3. Tap Default post privacy
   You see a row labeled Default post privacy. Tap it. A list of the four privacy levels appears.
4. Choose your preferred level
   Tap the privacy level you want. A checkmark appears next to your selection. The setting saves automatically. No separate save button exists in the mobile app.

How the Default Interacts with Manual Privacy Selection

When you compose a new post, the compose box shows the default privacy level. You can override it before posting by tapping or clicking the privacy icon next to the post button. This override applies only to that single post. The default remains unchanged for future posts.

For example, if you set your default to Followers-only but want to send a Public announcement, you can change that one post to Public. The next post will again default to Followers-only.

Common Mistakes and Limitations When Setting Default Post Privacy

Default Not Applied to Scheduled Posts

Scheduled posts use the privacy level you selected at the time of scheduling. Changing your default after scheduling a post does not retroactively update that scheduled post. You must edit the scheduled post manually to change its privacy.

Default Not Applied to Replies

When you reply to a post, Mastodon automatically sets the privacy of your reply to match the privacy of the original post. Your default privacy setting does not apply to replies. If you reply to a Public post, your reply will be Public regardless of your default.

Direct Messages Require Manual Mention

Even if you set your default to Direct, you must still manually mention the recipients in the post content. Mastodon does not automatically add recipients. A Direct post with no mentions will be visible only to you.

Mastodon Default Post Privacy vs Per-Post Privacy Override

Item	Default Post Privacy	Per-Post Privacy Override
Scope	Applies to all new posts unless overridden	Applies only to the current post being composed
Setting location	Preferences > Other > Default post privacy (web) or Settings > Posting preferences (mobile)	Privacy icon in the compose box
Effect on replies	Does not apply; replies inherit the original post’s privacy	Can override the inherited privacy before sending the reply
Effect on scheduled posts	Does not apply retroactively to already-scheduled posts	Must be set at the time of scheduling

Setting a default post privacy on your Mastodon account reduces the number of clicks per post. You no longer need to adjust the privacy level for every post if you consistently use the same level. The default works for most posts, while the manual override handles exceptions. If you later change your posting habits, you can update the default at any time using the same settings path.