When you add a link to your personal website or another social profile on your Mastodon profile and then attempt to verify it using the rel=me lookup, Mastodon may display the error “Account has not been verified.” This error means Mastodon cannot confirm that you control both the Mastodon account and the external website. The issue is almost always caused by a missing or incorrect rel=me attribute on the external site. This article explains why the rel=me verification fails and provides step-by-step instructions to fix the problem on both Mastodon and your external website.
Key Takeaways: Fixing Mastodon rel=me Verification Errors
- Editing Profile > Metadata > Add link to external site: You must add the exact URL of your external website in your Mastodon profile metadata for the verification handshake to work.
- Adding <link rel=”me” href=”…”> to your external site’s HTML <head>: This tells Mastodon that you authorize the link from your site to your Mastodon profile, completing the bidirectional proof.
- Adding <a rel=”me” href=”…”> to your external site’s visible page content: Some platforms require an anchor tag with the rel=me attribute in addition to the link element in the head for verification to succeed.
Why Mastodon Displays “Account Has Not Been Verified” on rel=me Lookup
Mastodon uses the rel=me standard to verify that you own both your Mastodon account and an external website. The verification is a bidirectional handshake. Mastodon checks that your profile links to the external site, and then Mastodon visits the external site to look for a link back to your Mastodon profile that includes the rel=me attribute. If either direction is missing or the rel=me attribute is absent on the external site, Mastodon shows the error.
The most common root cause is that the external website does not include the required link element or anchor tag with rel=me pointing back to your Mastodon profile URL. Many content management systems and static site generators do not automatically add this attribute. Even if you add a plain link to your Mastodon profile on your site, Mastodon will not consider it verified unless the rel=me attribute is present in the HTML.
A secondary cause is a URL mismatch. The URL you enter in your Mastodon profile metadata must match exactly the URL that Mastodon fetches to check for the rel=me link. For example, if you enter “https://example.com” but your site redirects to “https://www.example.com”, the verification will fail because the URLs do not match. Similarly, trailing slashes matter — “https://example.com/” is different from “https://example.com” in Mastodon’s lookup.
Steps to Fix the rel=me Verification Error on Mastodon
The following steps assume you have a Mastodon account and an external website that you control. You will need the ability to edit the HTML of your external site, either through a file editor, a CMS plugin, or a site builder’s custom code section.
Method 1: Standard rel=me Verification for Self-Hosted Websites
- Copy your Mastodon profile URL
Open your Mastodon profile in a web browser. The URL should look like “https://yourinstance.social/@yourusername”. Copy this entire URL from the address bar. Do not use a shortened version or a link from the share button — use the direct profile URL. - Add the external site URL to your Mastodon profile metadata
Go to Preferences > Profile > Appearance. Under “Profile metadata,” click “Add new row.” In the Label field, enter a descriptive name such as “Website” or “Blog.” In the Content field, paste the full URL of your external website. Click “Save changes” at the bottom of the page. - Add a link element with rel=me to your external site’s HTML head
Open the HTML source file of your external website. Locate the <head> section. Add the following line, replacing the URL with your Mastodon profile URL: <link rel=”me” href=”https://yourinstance.social/@yourusername”>. Save the file and publish the change. - Add an anchor tag with rel=me to the visible page content
In the same HTML file, find the visible content area (usually inside the <body> tag). Add a visible link to your Mastodon profile that includes the rel=me attribute. For example: <a rel=”me” href=”https://yourinstance.social/@yourusername”>Mastodon</a>. This link must be visible on the page — Mastodon’s verification check looks for it in the rendered DOM. - Trigger a rel=me lookup from Mastodon
Return to your Mastodon profile page. Click the “Edit profile” button. In the “Profile metadata” section, you will see a “Verify” link next to the external site URL you added. Click “Verify.” Mastodon will perform the rel=me lookup. If successful, a green checkmark appears next to the link on your profile.
Method 2: rel=me Verification for WordPress Sites
- Install a plugin that adds rel=me to your site
In your WordPress admin dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New. Search for “rel=me” or “Mastodon verification.” Install and activate a plugin such as “Mastodon Autolink” or “Rel Me.” These plugins automatically add the required link element and anchor tag. - Configure the plugin with your Mastodon profile URL
Open the plugin settings page. Paste your Mastodon profile URL into the designated field. Save the settings. The plugin will inject the rel=me attributes into your site’s header and footer. - Add your WordPress site URL to Mastodon profile metadata
Follow step 2 from Method 1 to add your WordPress site URL to your Mastodon profile metadata. - Verify the link on Mastodon
Click “Verify” next to the site URL in your Mastodon profile metadata. The green checkmark should appear.
Method 3: rel=me Verification for Static Site Generators (Jekyll, Hugo, Eleventy)
- Edit the site template to add rel=me in the head
Locate the main layout file (e.g., default.html, baseof.html). In the <head> section, add: <link rel=”me” href=”https://yourinstance.social/@yourusername”>. Replace the URL with your Mastodon profile URL. - Add a visible link with rel=me to the footer or sidebar
In the same layout file, add an anchor tag in the footer or sidebar area: <a rel=”me” href=”https://yourinstance.social/@yourusername”>Mastodon</a>. This ensures the link is present on every page. - Rebuild and deploy your site
Run your build command (e.g., jekyll build, hugo, npx eleventy) and deploy the generated files to your web server. - Add your site URL to Mastodon profile metadata and verify
Follow steps 2 and 5 from Method 1.
If Mastodon Still Shows “Account Has Not Been Verified” After Adding rel=me
URL Mismatch Between Mastodon Profile and External Site
The most frequent cause of persistent verification failure is a URL mismatch. Mastodon compares the URL you entered in your profile metadata with the URL it fetches to check for the rel=me link. If your external site uses HTTP redirects (301 or 302), Mastodon may not follow them. Ensure the URL in your Mastodon profile metadata matches the exact URL that Mastodon will fetch. For example, if your site is accessible at both “https://example.com” and “https://www.example.com”, use the version that does not redirect. You can check redirects using a tool like curl or a browser’s network inspector.
rel=me Attribute Missing from the Anchor Tag
Some Mastodon instances require the rel=me attribute on an anchor tag in the visible page content, not just on a link element in the head. If you only added the link element, add an anchor tag with rel=me as described in step 4 of Method 1. Make sure the anchor tag is not inside an iframe, a JavaScript-rendered component, or hidden with CSS — Mastodon’s verifier renders the page and looks for the attribute in the visible DOM.
External Site Uses HTTPS While Mastodon Profile Links to HTTP
If your Mastodon profile metadata contains an HTTP URL but your external site redirects to HTTPS, the verification will fail. Update your Mastodon profile metadata to use the HTTPS version of the URL. Similarly, if your external site only serves HTTP, ensure the URL in Mastodon uses HTTP.
Mastodon Instance Caches Old Profile Data
After making changes to your external site, Mastodon may cache the old verification status. Wait up to 30 minutes and then click “Verify” again. You can also log out of Mastodon, clear your browser cache, and log back in to force a refresh of your profile data.
| Item | Without rel=me Attribute | With Correct rel=me Attribute |
|---|---|---|
| Verification status | “Account has not been verified” error | Green checkmark on profile link |
| Trust signal to followers | Link appears normal, no verification badge | Badge confirms you own the linked site |
| SEO or ranking impact | None | None directly, but may improve cross-site authority signals |
| Required HTML changes | None | Add <link rel=”me”> in head and <a rel=”me”> in body |
| Time to verify after fix | N/A | Immediate after clicking “Verify” or within 30 minutes |
After you add the correct rel=me attributes to your external site and match the URL exactly in your Mastodon profile metadata, the verification should succeed. The green checkmark on your profile tells other Mastodon users that the link to your website is legitimate. For extra security, you can also add a rel=me link from your Mastodon profile metadata pointing back to your website — this bidirectional confirmation is the core of the rel=me standard. If you manage multiple external sites, repeat the process for each one, ensuring each site’s HTML includes the rel=me link pointing to your Mastodon profile.