What You Didn’t Know About Mastodon Investigations
Mastodon is an actively growing open-source microblogging platform that can be used to uncover a lot of data. The service is used by many people who left Twitter but also by people who want a platform free of moderation or any control
Mastodon is a decentralized quasi-social media that offers an alternative to mainstream platforms like Twitter. It was created with the goal of providing users with a product that puts privacy and data ownership first. Unlike Twitter, Mastodon is made up of multiple instances (servers), each with its own communities and rules set by volunteers. To get a full picture of a topic or an individual, it may be necessary to monitor activity across multiple servers.
With users from around the world, diverse interests and communities, and almost no moderation rules, Mastodon can provide valuable insights and data that may not be found on mainstream platforms. The decentralized nature allows servers to ignore subpoenas from law enforcement and do illegal activities. By using open-source tools to collect and analyze data on Mastodon, digital investigators can uncover information that may have otherwise been overlooked.
What Are Mastodon Servers?
Servers are independent communities and should be treated as individual websites. The servers’ profile pages have a lot of data about their owners including their contact information, the localization of the server, a list of banned servers with an explanation of why and a profile directory that allows to see which users are a part of the server.
An overview of existing servers can be found on Mastodon’s Join page. New users can join existing servers or create their own. Each user can follow people from other servers or even move their account to a different server. Servers can be public and open for everyone to join, or private and hidden from search and open only to people with an invitation or a specific link.
Additionally, servers can be discovered on third-party websites, for example here, here, here, or here. A geographical map was created to be able to find servers by location.
Servers, like any websites, have domain names that can be checked with Whois records websites which can show historical data about the domain and, in some rear and lucky cases, contact information. For example, we can see the domain history of one of the main Mastodon servers on Whoxy below.
Search on Mastodon
The platform search is limited to provide maximum security to the users. Name, hashtags, or bio keywords are the only available searches on the platform. There are no textual searches in posts and it is an intentional restriction to provide not just privacy but to limit access to the worst parts of the platform.
One of the best ways to find people on Mastodon is to search Twitter for users who left their Mastodon handles in their Twitter bios. Just searching the keyword “Mastodon” on Twitter’s People section brings thousands of users with their Mastodon usernames. A few third-party services were developed to help in finding users.
Fedfinder: the service allows Twitter users to see which of their followers or following are on Mastodon. Users can download a CSV file with the Mastodon handles, but before that, they have to authorize the service to access their Twitter account.
Fediverce: a people search based on keywords or topics that don’t include personal details.
MastoVue: a search for timelines and hashtags on a local or federal level.
Mastodon users share similar bios to Twitter’s with photos, links, dates of joining the service, and a Note section. It’s a good start for looking for additional information using Mastodon’s usernames, photos, or links to other websites and social media. A username check is often the best way to find more data about a person in question.
Examples of username search tools available online:
