Mastodon Plans “Packs” Feature to Simplify Follow Discovery for New Users

Mastodon is working to launch a new feature called Packs, which will allow users to access curated collections of accounts to follow based on particular interests, themes, subcultures or other categories – addressing a persistent onboarding challenge faced by many decentralized networks. The concept draws inspiration from Bluesky’s “Starter Packs”, which Meta has also duplicated in the past, though Mastodon is aiming to introduce important distinctions around user control and consent.

One of the core issues new users face is the so-called “cold start” problem: they join a platform but lack direction about who to follow, which can lead to empty or unengaging timelines. Bluesky’s Starter Packs have tried to mitigate this by enabling users to share themed recommendation sets – into genres like journalists, creators, or niche topics. Mastodon’s Packs would play a similar role, giving newcomers a head start on populating their feeds with relevant voices.

However, Mastodon is positioning its version with stronger privacy and opt-out features. Users would have the ability to prevent their profiles from being included in Packs by disabling their discoverability settings. The team also plans to notify users when they’ve been added to a Pack, and allow them to remove themselves without needing to report or block the Pack creator—a more straightforward approach than what’s currently possible on Bluesky.

The feature is being developed by Mastodon gGmbH in coordination with other Fediverse developers, through a Fediverse Enhancement Proposal (FEP) currently hosted on GitHub. The goal is to establish a cross-compatible implementation so that Packs created on one instance can be discoverable across the federated network.