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Social Media Privacy 6-8 min read · May 06, 2026

Mastodon Privacy & Security Guide 2026

Mastodon's decentralized structure gives you more control, but also means privacy depends entirely on which instance you choose and how you configure it.

Mastodon Privacy & Security Guide 2026

Read your instance’s federation list before you trust any of these settings. Some instances mirror to servers with weaker defaults, and a followers-only post travels with them. Then require Follow requests, disable search-engine indexing, and set default post visibility to Followers only.

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Key steps to lock down Mastodon in 2026

  1. Preferences → Privacy and reach.
  2. Make account private and require Follow requests.
  3. Disable search engine indexing.
  4. Set Posts default visibility to Followers only.
  5. Turn off Suggest account to others.
  6. Audit your instance's federation list — some instances mirror to less-private servers.
  7. Enable two-factor authentication.
Mastodon privacy controls illustration

Quick checklist

  • Profile visibility: Private or friends-only
  • Search engine indexing: Off
  • Location sharing: Off
  • Two-factor authentication: Enabled (authenticator app, not SMS)
  • Data partner sharing / personalized ads: Off
  • Linked apps + sessions: Audited and revoked where unfamiliar

Why these settings still aren't enough

Even with every Mastodon setting locked down, your data still leaks through three channels these settings can't reach: historical exposures already in breach corpora, third-party scrapers that mirrored your old public data, and people-search aggregators that re-list your details every time you remove them. That's where continuous external monitoring becomes essential.

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One email is enough. We check it against known leaks and against the people-search sites that publish your name, address and phone — then show you what to do about each one. About 15 seconds. No card, no account. Details go to your inbox.

By running your scan you agree to the Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy, and to GalaxyWarden emailing you the results of this scan.

Where GalaxyWarden Protection fits

GalaxyWarden Protection files removal requests with data brokers and people-search sites on your behalf, and every scan runs on the DoxxScan™ engine. The free way in is a free DoxxScan™ scan of an email address you confirm is yours, which checks it against 13.1B+ leaked breach records. DoxxScan™ monitoring, included in GalaxyWarden Protection, re-checks up to 3 email addresses you confirm are yours and sends a DoxxScan™ alert when one turns up in a new breach.

Run a free DoxxScan™ scan of an email you confirm is yours to see which known breaches it appears in.

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