Mastodon Collections Is Here to Fix Bluesky Starter Packs’ Wrongs
Quick Reads
- Mastodon Collections is a new feature for curating and sharing recommended accounts.
- Unlike Bluesky, Mastodon notifies users when added to a Collection and lets them remove themselves.
- Collections cap at 25 accounts to reduce spam, versus Bluesky’s 150-account limit.
- There is no “Follow All” button at launch, to prevent low-quality feed experiences.
- Collections roll out on mastodon.social first, then all servers with Mastodon 4.6.
Mastodon is rolling out a new feature called Collections, and it takes direct aim at a real user pain point. Collections lets people bundle and share recommended accounts, arriving as part of the upcoming Mastodon 4.6 update.
The inspiration is no secret. Mastodon’s team said it “reviewed public feedback” on Bluesky’s Starter Packs before building its own version. The result is a more consent-driven approach to account discovery on the fediverse.
One of the biggest changes concerns user control. On Mastodon, you will get notified if someone adds you to a Collection, with the option to remove yourself. That is a sharp contrast to Bluesky, where removing yourself from a Starter Pack requires blocking the creator entirely.
Mastodon Collections also launches with a tighter scope. Collections support up to 25 accounts, compared to Bluesky’s limit of 150. Mastodon suspects that smaller Collections will cut down on the spammy behaviour sometimes seen on Bluesky.
There will be no “Follow All” button at launch either. Mastodon read feedback that people on Bluesky often mass-followed accounts from stale Starter Packs, only to end up with a subpar feed. The platform wants to avoid that outcome before adding any bulk-follow option.
Each Collection can include a short description, a single hashtag topic, and an optional sensitive content warning. Collections can be set as Public or Unlisted and shared via link.
Collections will begin rolling out on mastodon.social before becoming available to all servers with Mastodon 4.6. That update also includes a profile redesign for mobile, a new Activity tab, and updated onboarding explainers.
The team’s blog post on designing Collections makes clear this is a version one release. More changes are expected based on how the community actually uses the feature.
The real test will be whether Mastodon’s privacy-enhanced approach resonates with users who have consistently chosen more centralized alternatives. This new collection could be the onboarding fix the platform has needed for years.
