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What is the Fediverse? A plain-English explainer

Short answer: The Fediverse is a group of social websites and apps that can connect with each other because they use shared open protocols, most often ActivityPub. It is not one platform, one company, or one feed. A person on one compatible server can often follow, reply to, or read public posts from someone on another compatible server. That can make social networking less dependent on a single owner. It also means identity, moderation, safety, privacy, and portability depend on the servers, apps, policies, and protocol features involved.

Why we chose this

TouchGrass is built around a simple idea: social software should support real life, not capture attention for its own sake.

That is why we care about the Fediverse and the wider open social web. A social network should not have to be one giant website where every account, post, audience, and exit path belongs to the same company. Independent services should be able to connect. People should have more than one door in, more than one place to host their identity, and a clearer way to leave when a service no longer fits them.

The Fediverse helps explain that direction in plain language. It shows that social software can be made from many communities instead of one central platform. Open does not mean everything is public. Open can mean shared standards, interoperability, and user choice. Privacy is a separate product and safety question, especially when posts cross servers or reach other people.

TouchGrass is not anti-social media. It is pro-social software: friends, circles, posts worth keeping, and exits from platform lock-in.

How this works on TouchGrass

TouchGrass centers real social context. You can use profiles, posts, long-form writing, photos and albums, recommendations, friends, and circles to share with more intention.

TouchGrass avoids the mechanics that often turn social apps into engagement traps. It does not build around an algorithmic feed, infinite scroll, public like counts, short video pressure, or features designed mainly to keep people refreshing. The goal is to make a profile feel like a place, not a slot machine.

In other words: TouchGrass wants the benefits of open social software, but without pretending that every protocol feature is finished, universal, or simple.

Our feature status page shows which protocol and portability features are available now.

Worth knowing

The Fediverse is not a magic escape from social network problems.

A federated post may move across compatible servers, but that does not mean every server behaves the same way. Moderation rules can differ. Some servers may block other servers. Some apps may show a post differently. Some data may be copied or cached. Public posts should be treated as public.

Private or limited-audience sharing needs especially careful language. TouchGrass can support intentional audiences such as friends and circles, but no social product can promise protection against screenshots, copied text, recipient misuse, or the behavior of remote servers outside its control. “Private” should never be explained as “impossible to leak.”

The Fediverse also does not automatically solve portability. Account migration, identity, archives, media, follows, social graphs, and posts can all involve separate technical and policy choices.

FAQ
Is the Fediverse one social network?

No. It is better understood as many independent social services that can communicate through shared protocols. People often experience it through specific apps and servers, but the network is not owned by one company.

Is everything on the Fediverse public?

No. “Open” and “public” are different ideas. Open can describe protocols and interoperability. Public describes who can see a post.

How is this related to TouchGrass?

TouchGrass is building a safe, open social home for real life. That means supporting friends, circles, profiles, posts worth keeping, and exit paths from platform lock-in.

Why not just use one big platform?

One big platform can feel convenient, but it can also create lock-in. The open social web makes room for different communities, different moderation choices, and better exits.

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