When you post on Mastodon, you can choose between Public and Unlisted visibility. Many users assume both options make their content visible to followers and in timelines. The key difference lies in how each setting interacts with Mastodon’s search and discovery features. Public posts appear in the federated timeline, local timeline, and full-text search results. Unlisted posts skip the public timelines but still appear in search results for users who follow you or who have the direct link. This article explains exactly how each visibility level affects search behavior on Mastodon, including which users can find your posts and through which channels.
Key Takeaways: Public vs Unlisted Post Visibility on Mastodon
- Public visibility: Posts appear in the local timeline, federated timeline, and full-text search results for all Mastodon users, including those who do not follow you.
- Unlisted visibility: Posts skip the local and federated timelines but remain searchable by users who follow you, who have the direct link, or who search using keywords from the post.
- Full-text search indexing: Both Public and Unlisted posts are indexed for search on instances that have full-text search enabled, but Unlisted posts are excluded from the Explore page and trending hashtags.
How Mastodon Visibility Levels Affect Search Indexing
Mastodon offers four visibility levels for posts: Public, Unlisted, Followers-only, and Direct. The two most commonly confused are Public and Unlisted. Both allow anyone with the link to view the post, but they differ in how the post is promoted and discovered through Mastodon’s built-in search and timeline features.
When you set a post to Public, Mastodon pushes it to two key discovery surfaces: the local timeline and the federated timeline. The local timeline shows posts from users on the same instance. The federated timeline shows posts from users on any instance that your instance follows. Public posts are also eligible for the Explore page, which highlights trending content and hashtags across the fediverse. Full-text search engines on instances that support them index the entire text of Public posts, making them discoverable by any user who searches for those keywords.
Unlisted posts behave differently. They do not appear in the local timeline or the federated timeline. They also do not appear on the Explore page or in trending hashtags. However, Unlisted posts are still indexed by full-text search on instances where that feature is enabled. A user who follows you can see your Unlisted posts in their Home feed. A user who does not follow you can still find your Unlisted post if they search for a phrase that appears in the post text, provided the search engine on their instance indexes the post. The key restriction is that the search result will not show the post in timeline previews or hashtag pages.
When Full-Text Search Is Enabled
Full-text search is not enabled by default on all Mastodon instances. Instance administrators must turn it on in the server settings. When full-text search is active, both Public and Unlisted posts are added to the search index. The Mastodon search engine uses Elasticsearch or the built-in PostgreSQL full-text search to index post content. The search index includes the post text, hashtags, and mentions. Public posts receive a higher search ranking because they have more engagement signals from timelines. Unlisted posts are indexed but ranked lower because they lack timeline engagement data.
Search Visibility for Non-Followers
A user who does not follow you can find your Public post through the local timeline, federated timeline, Explore page, or a direct keyword search. The same non-follower can find your Unlisted post only through a direct keyword search, and only if the search engine on their instance has indexed that post. If the instance does not have full-text search enabled, the Unlisted post is invisible to non-followers entirely.
Steps to Check and Change Post Visibility on Mastodon
- Open the post composer
Click the compose button in the Mastodon web interface or mobile app. The compose window appears with the text input area and a visibility icon below the input field. - Locate the visibility icon
Look for the globe icon for Public, the lock icon for Unlisted, or the envelope icon for Direct. The icon appears as a small button next to the CW button or the publish button, depending on your client version. - Click the visibility icon to change the setting
Click the globe icon to cycle through visibility options. On the web interface, a dropdown menu appears with four options: Public, Unlisted, Followers-only, and Direct. Select Unlisted to hide the post from timelines but keep it searchable. - Publish the post
After selecting the desired visibility level, click the publish button. The post is sent to the server with the chosen visibility flag. You can verify the visibility by looking at the post detail page — the lock icon appears next to the timestamp for Unlisted posts. - Test search behavior for an existing post
Open a second browser window logged into a different Mastodon account. Search for a unique phrase from your Unlisted post. If full-text search is enabled on the second instance, the post appears in the search results. If not, the post does not appear.
If Post Visibility Does Not Behave as Expected on Mastodon
Unlisted Post Appears in the Local Timeline
Some Mastodon clients, especially third-party apps, may display Unlisted posts in the local timeline due to a client-side bug or misconfiguration. To confirm the post’s true visibility, open the post in the official Mastodon web interface and check the visibility icon. If the icon shows the lock, the post is correctly Unlisted. The timeline display in a third-party app does not change the server-side visibility flag. Report the bug to the third-party client developer.
Public Post Does Not Appear in Search Results
Full-text search must be enabled on the instance where the search is performed. If the instance administrator has disabled full-text search, no Public or Unlisted posts appear in search results. To verify, check the instance’s about page or ask the administrator. Another cause is that the search index has not yet updated. Mastodon reindexes posts periodically, usually within a few minutes. Wait 10 minutes and search again.
Unlisted Post Appears on the Explore Page
The Explore page shows trending content from Public posts only. If an Unlisted post appears there, the instance may have a modified algorithm or a bug. This is rare on official Mastodon software. Verify the post’s visibility setting on the post detail page. If the visibility shows Unlisted but the post appears on Explore, report the issue to the instance administrator.
| Item | Public | Unlisted |
|---|---|---|
| Local timeline display | Yes | No |
| Federated timeline display | Yes | No |
| Explore page / trending | Yes | No |
| Full-text search indexing | Yes | Yes |
| Visible to non-followers via search | Yes | Conditional (requires full-text search enabled on searcher’s instance) |
| Visible to followers in Home feed | Yes | Yes |
| Visible with direct link | Yes | Yes |
Public posts maximize discoverability across all Mastodon surfaces. Unlisted posts reduce discoverability to search only, making them suitable for content you want indexed but not promoted. The choice between Public and Unlisted depends on whether you want your post to appear in timelines and trending sections. If you want search-only visibility without timeline promotion, use Unlisted. If you want the widest possible audience through all discovery channels, use Public.