GNU social icon

GNU social

GNU social is a free and open source social networking platform. It is designed to be decentralized and enable users to control their own data instead of having it stored on corporate servers. It is compatible with Twitter to allow seamless communication across platforms.

What is GNU social?

GNU social is a free, decentralized and open source social networking platform developed as part of the GNU Project. It allows users to control their own data and privacy instead of having it stored on corporate servers.

Some key features of GNU social include:

  • Decentralized federated structure - users can set up their own GNU social server (called GNU social node) and connect it with other nodes to expand the network.
  • Twitter compatibility - Users on GNU social can seamlessly interact and communicate with Twitter users.
  • Privacy focused - Gives users control over their data, posts, privacy settings.
  • Built for freedom of speech without censorship.
  • APIs for third-party application integration.
  • Built using open standards and free software.

GNU social supports creating user profiles, posting short messages (like tweets), uploading images, replying, sharing others' posts, favoriting/bookmarking posts, using hashtags, discovering other users and servers, choosing privacy levels for your posts and data. It also has native mobile apps for Android and iOS.

GNU social is used to set up private social networks by organizations, interest groups, universities etc. It provides a good alternative to corporate social media platforms with its focus on privacy, freedom of expression and user control.

The Best GNU social Alternatives

Top Apps like GNU social

Gab, Twell.me, Mastodon, SpaceHey, Efimero, D.Buzz, Minds, Orbys, Toko, THINK thenlive, Diaspora, KOUHMAN, Chttr.co, Micro.blog, MediaRevolt, Hawaar, App.net, pump.io, drixr, Bluesky, FutureNet, Micrro, Mumblit, YouWeb, Woddal, Bastyon, Pebble.is, Flote, StatusNet, Tally App, Open Social, Pleroma, alloblak, Misskey, PenPal World, ColdCast, cohost, Chaino, Movim, Hubzilla, Dinky Social Network, Apsense, Manyverse, AtomJump.org, Mirror Island, SocialPage, OVBE.Club, SocialER, Osada, Thoughtifies, Kizie, Viadeo, GoToSocial, CircleCare, My World Network, Social Home, WrongThink, Total Social, Communecter, Tribyo, NewTimeBox, Friend Xone, Finspi, Kaverti, JumzleR, Tokumei, Pixeljab, SocialNumber, BabyTwit, Kocpit, e-Sathi, Gymmr, BlaBlaNet, Animeinterface, The Social Network, postActiv, Addamate, DumDarac are some alternatives to GNU social.

Gab

Gab is a social networking website launched in 2016 that bills itself as a free speech alternative to mainstream platforms like Twitter and Facebook. It has become popular among some conservative, alt-right, and far-right users who feel their views are censored on other sites.Gab's key features include:Minimal content moderation...

Twell.me

Twell.me is a free online appointment scheduling and booking software designed to help solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and other service-based businesses effectively manage their scheduling and client bookings.Some key features of Twell.me include:Customizable booking page - Users can brand the booking page with their business name, logo...

Mastodon

Mastodon is an open-source, decentralized social networking platform launched in 2016. It operates as an alternative to commercial platforms like Twitter or Facebook by allowing a federated network of independently operated servers to exchange posts between one another.Rather than having a single central authority like Twitter or Facebook, Mastodon servers...

SpaceHey

SpaceHey is an alternative social network similar to Hey.com. It was created in response to Hey's announcement that they would be shutting down in January 2023.Like Hey, SpaceHey focuses on privacy and providing an ad-free experience for its users. Some key features SpaceHey offers include:Photo sharing and messaging...

Efimero

Efimero is an open-source, self-hosted alternative to Snapchat that focuses on privacy and security. It allows users to share photos, videos, and messages that automatically disappear after being viewed by the recipient(s).Some key features of Efimero include:End-to-end encrypted messaging to keep conversations truly privateScreenshot notifications to alert...

D.Buzz

D.Buzz is a free, open-source database modeling and design tool used by developers, database administrators, and data analysts to visually design, model, and manage databases. It provides an intuitive graphical user interface to easily design Entity Relationship Diagrams (ERD) and generate database creation scripts for various database systems including...

Minds

Minds is an open-source, privacy-focused social networking platform launched in 2015. It emphasizes free speech and does not censor or filter content posted by users, except in cases of illegal content.Some key features of Minds include:Encryption - Content and conversations are encrypted for privacy.Anonymity - Users can browse...

Orbys

Orbys is a free, open-source personal finance application designed to help users take control of their money and achieve their financial goals. With Orbys, users can track income, expenses, account balances, investments, and net worth over time. Some key features and benefits of Orbys include:Customizable budgets and categories -...

Toko

Toko is an open-source mobile app development platform that allows you to build native iOS and Android apps using web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It provides a unified codebase to target both platforms instead of having to build separate native apps.Under the hood, Toko utilizes Apache Cordova...

THINK thenlive

THINK thenlive is a personal knowledge management and planning software designed to help users organize information, ideas, and decisions more effectively. It provides a central platform to capture, structure, and track all kinds of data that informs decision making and strategy.Some key features of THINK thenlive include:Flexible databases...

Diaspora

Diaspora is a decentralized, open source social networking platform launched in 2010. It emphasizes user privacy and control over data sharing.As a decentralized network, Diaspora allows users to host their profile and data on independently run servers called pods. This avoids a central entity having control over the network. Pods...

KOUHMAN

KOUHMAN is an open-source knowledge management and collaboration software designed for teams and organizations. It provides a centralized platform to organize information, documents, discussions, tasks, and projects.Some key features of KOUHMAN include:Wikis and document management for capturing tribal knowledgeForums and threads for discussionsTasks and project management toolsPowerful search...

Chttr.co

Chttr.co is an open-source, self-hosted alternative to popular team chat apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams. It allows teams and organizations to communicate in real-time via public and private chat channels, direct messaging between individuals, share files/images, search message history, and integrate with other services.As an open-source...

Micro.blog

Micro.blog is a blogging and social networking platform optimized for short-form writing. It was created in 2017 by Manton Reece as an alternative to traditional blogging platforms.Some key features of Micro.blog include:Microposts - Posts are limited to 280 characters, similar to tweets on Twitter. This encourages brief, concise...

MediaRevolt

MediaRevolt is a free and open-source digital asset management (DAM) system for organizing media files. It provides tools to easily upload, organize, search and share digital assets like images, videos, audio files and documents.Key features of MediaRevolt include:Upload and manage an unlimited number of filesOrganize using tags, categories...

Hawaar

Hawaar is an open-source, self-hosted kanban project management application inspired by Trello. It allows individuals and teams to organize projects into boards with lists and cards representing tasks or items of work.Some key features of Hawaar include:Creating unlimited boards, lists, and cardsDrag-and-drop support for moving cards between listsLabeling...

App.net

App.net was a microblogging and social networking service created in 2012 by Dalton Caldwell as an alternative to services like Twitter. Unlike Twitter, App.net charged a monthly subscription fee of $36 per year for users to access the service and focused on providing an ad-free, simple, chronological feed rather than...

Pump.io

pump.io is an open source social networking and microblogging platform developed by Evan Prodromou. It is designed to give users control over their privacy and data while still allowing them to interact with others.Some key features of pump.io include:Activity Streams - pump.io is based on...

Drixr

Drixr is an open-source screen recorder and video editor software for Linux. It provides an easy way to record your desktop screen, capture audio from your microphone or system sounds, and edit and export the recordings.Some key features of Drixr include:Lightweight and optimized for performanceIntuitive user interface with...

Bluesky

Bluesky is an open-source, decentralized social media protocol and platform started by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey in 2019. It is still in active development.The goal of Bluesky is to create an ethical, non-profit alternative to commercial social networks by building an open and decentralized standard for social media based on...

FutureNet

FutureNet is an open-source, decentralized social networking platform launched in 2019. It is designed to provide an ethical, privacy-focused alternative to mainstream centralized social networks like Facebook and Twitter.Some key features of FutureNet include:Encryption - All data and communications on FutureNet are end-to-end encrypted.Decentralization - Data is stored...

Micrro

Micrro is an open-source, self-hosted alternative to Microsoft Word. It is a feature-rich word processor that allows users to create, edit, format and export documents. Some of the key features of Micrro include:Supports common document formats like .doc, .docx, .odt, .pdfBasic formatting options - fonts, colors, alignment, lists, indentation...

Mumblit

Mumblit is an open-source, self-hosted TeamSpeak and Discord alternative for voice, video, and text chat. Some key features of Mumblit include:User management system with registration, login, profiles, and avatarsCreate public and private text channels with topic descriptionsVoice chat servers with multiple roomsVideo calling in voice channelsUser roles and permissions...

YouWeb

YouWeb is an intelligent software that gives personalized recommendations for websites, articles, products and services based on advanced AI algorithms. It browses through your search histories and online activities, analyzes your interests and preferences, and generates useful suggestions tailored just for you.Some key features of YouWeb include:Analyzes your...

Woddal

Woddal is a flexible open-source content management system designed for small businesses, creative professionals, and personal websites. With its user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, Woddal makes it easy to create stylish, customized sites without needing to know code.Some key features of Woddal include:Intuitive visual editor for drag-and-drop website building100+ professional...

Bastyon

Bastyon is an open-source web content management system and web framework written in PHP. It was created in 2012 by Bastian Allgeier and provides a simple yet powerful platform for building custom web applications and websites.Some key features of Bastyon include:Lightweight and fast - Bastyon uses a simple architecture...

Pebble.is

Pebble.is is a personal knowledge management and note taking app that allows users to organize their digital life in one place. It serves as a second brain to hold information like notes, tasks, web bookmarks, highlights from articles, etc.Key features of Pebble.is include:Flexible note taking with...

Flote

Flote is a minimalist note-taking and note organization app designed for simplicity and cross-platform syncing. It provides a clean and distraction-free interface for writing, structuring, and searching all your notes across devices.Key features of Flote include:Simple and intuitive note editing with Markdown supportFlexible note organization with tags, notebooks...

StatusNet

StatusNet is an open-source, decentralized social networking platform. It provides microblogging features similar to Twitter, allowing users to post short status updates, follow other users, reply, favorite and boost posts.Some key features of StatusNet include:Open source - StatusNet is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License, allowing...

Tally App

Tally App is a user-friendly personal finance application designed to help individuals take control of their spending habits and achieve their financial goals. With its clean, minimalistic interface, Tally allows users to quickly log daily transactions, set custom budgets for various expense categories, and track spending against those budgets over...

Open Social

OpenSocial is an open standard and set of APIs for social networking platforms led by Google and developed through the OpenSocial Foundation. It allows developers to create applications that access a social network's friends and update feeds. The goal is to enable applications to work across multiple websites and social...

Pleroma

Pleroma is an open-source, federated social networking platform built on ActivityPub. It is written in Elixir and can be self-hosted as an alternative to large corporate social media platforms.Some key features and characteristics of Pleroma:Designed to be lightweight and fast while still being feature-richFully supports federation using the...

Alloblak

Alloblak is an open-source, self-hosted team chat and collaboration platform similar to Slack. It allows teams and organizations to set up their own internal messaging system for team communication, file sharing, search, third-party integrations and more.Some of the key features of Alloblak include:Public and private chat channelsDirect messaging...

Misskey

Misskey is an open-source, decentralized microblogging and social networking platform launched in 2014. It functions similarly to Twitter, allowing users to post short messages up to 512 characters called notes, follow other users, hashtag posts, reply, bookmark, and renote (retweet).What sets Misskey apart is its focus on customization, privacy, and giving...

PenPal World

PenPal World is an online pen pal service founded in 2006 that aims to connect pen pals from around the world. It has over 5 million members across 200 countries. The site allows users to create a profile detailing their interests, hobbies, occupation, and reasons for wanting a pen pal. Users can then...

ColdCast

ColdCast is an open-source podcast publishing platform built specifically for podcasters. It provides an easy way to record, edit, manage, and publish podcasts without needing extensive technical skills.Some key features of ColdCast include:Intuitive dashboard for managing episodes, series, media files, etc.Built-in audio recorder and editor to easily...

Cohost

Cohost is a user-friendly website builder designed for small businesses, bloggers, artists, and anyone looking to establish an online presence without technical skills. It provides an intuitive drag-and-drop interface to create a stunning website with minimal effort.With Cohost's library of professionally-designed templates, you can kickstart your website and customize...

Chaino

Chaino is an open-source blockchain platform launched in 2018 that allows developers to build decentralized applications and smart contracts. It aims to provide a scalable, secure, and energy-efficient foundation for Web 3.0 applications.Some key features of Chaino include:Proof-of-stake consensus - Chaino uses a proof-of-stake model rather than proof-of-work, which is...

Movim

Movim is an open-source, decentralized social networking and communication platform. It operates on a federated model, meaning users on different servers can communicate with each other seamlessly while each server remains independent. Some key features of Movim include:Decentralized architecture - No single entity controls the networkEnd-to-end encryption - Messages...

Hubzilla

Hubzilla is an open-source, decentralized social networking and communications platform built on a foundation of web server software called Elgg. Unlike traditional social networks like Facebook or Twitter that store user data on centralized servers controlled by a single company, Hubzilla allows users to have ownership and control over their...

Dinky Social Network

Dinky Social Network is a relatively new, small social media platform launched in 2019 as an alternative focused on privacy and security. Without the newsfeed algorithms and advanced targeting advertising of sites like Facebook, Dinky aims to recapture the simplicity and transparency of early social networks.Anybody can join Dinky and...

Apsense

Apsense is an online affiliate marketing network and advertising platform that aims to connect advertisers and publishers to help them monetize traffic. It provides a platform for publishers to earn money by placing ads on their websites, blogs, YouTube channels etc. while also helping advertisers reach their target audience and...

Manyverse

Manyverse is a decentralized, peer-to-peer social networking application for Android and desktop operating systems. It allows users to connect with others nearby to chat, share content, and more without relying on central servers.Here are some key features of Manyverse:Decentralized architecture - Data is stored and shared between users'...

AtomJump.org

AtomJump.org is a free online service that helps users find alternatives for proprietary, closed-source software. The website has an extensive database of free and open source software (FOSS) options across categories like browsers, email clients, office suites, media players, image/video editors, CAD software, and more.Users can simply...

Mirror Island

Mirror Island is a cloud-based virtual classroom and learning management software designed for K-12 schools. It allows teachers to provide engaging remote and hybrid learning experiences for students.Key features of Mirror Island include:Virtual classroom space with interactive whiteboard, screen sharing, polls, breakout rooms and more for live teaching...

SocialPage

SocialPage is a leading social media management platform designed to help marketers and agencies manage their social media more effectively. It centralizes multiple social media accounts into one easy-to-use dashboard for publishing, engaging, and reporting.With SocialPage, you can easily schedule and publish content to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest...

OVBE.Club

OVBE.Club is an innovative online video broadcasting and e-learning platform suitable for educators, businesses, content creators, and more. It provides a suite of tools to stream videos, host webinars and virtual events, conduct online courses, manage video content, and analyze performance metrics.Key features of OVBE.Club include:Intuitive...

SocialER

SocialER is a comprehensive social media management platform designed to help businesses, agencies, and marketers manage their social media more efficiently. Some key features of SocialER include:Unified inbox to manage conversations and comments across multiple social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.Content scheduling and publishing to allow...

Osada

Osada is an open-source and cross-platform project management application. It provides similar core functionality as Microsoft Project, allowing users to plan, schedule, and track projects.Key features of Osada include:Creating projects and defining tasks, milestones, and dependencies between tasksAssigning resources such as people and equipment to tasksBuilding project schedules...

Thoughtifies

Thoughtifies is an innovative mind mapping and brainstorming application designed to help users organize ideas and information visually. It enables individuals and teams to create flexible and customizable maps to structure thoughts and concepts, outline plans, track tasks and notes, and facilitate productive discussions.Some key features of Thoughtifies include...

Kizie

Kizie is an open-source customer support system designed specifically for small businesses. It provides a set of easy-to-use tools to help small teams manage customer support efficiently.Key features of Kizie include:Ticketing system to manage, assign, and respond to customer support ticketsLive chat to enable real-time conversations with customersKnowledge...

Viadeo

Viadeo is a professional social networking platform that was launched in 2004 in France. It focuses on facilitating business connections and career development opportunities. As of 2022, Viadeo has over 15 million members, primarily located in France and other European countries.Some key features of Viadeo include user profiles with resumes/CVs and...

GoToSocial

GoToSocial is an open-source, decentralized alternative to Twitter. It is designed and developed by a non-profit organization with the goal of providing an ethical and transparent social media platform focused on privacy.GoToSocial works on a federated model, allowing different servers and instances to connect within the network. This means...

CircleCare

CircleCare is a comprehensive electronic health record (EHR) and practice management solution designed specifically for behavioral health and addiction treatment providers. It is a cloud-based, HIPAA-compliant platform that aims to optimize clinical workflows and business operations.Key features of CircleCare include:Custom intake assessments and treatment planning toolsProgress notes, treatment...

My World Network

My World Network is a social networking website and mobile app designed specifically for teenagers ages 13-19. Launched in 2021, My World aims to provide a safe, friendly, and age-appropriate online environment for teens to connect with friends, share their lives, explore interests, and more.Key features of My World Network...

Social Home

Social Home is an all-in-one social media management software that helps brands and marketers manage their social media presence efficiently. It provides a single dashboard to manage multiple social media accounts and pages across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and more.Key features of Social Home include:Social...

WrongThink

WrongThink is a social media platform launched in 2019 that promotes itself as a free speech alternative to larger sites like Facebook and Twitter. Its founders stated goal is to allow all legal speech without censorship.However, the site has proven controversial as critics have accused it of being a safe...

Total Social

Total Social is a comprehensive social media management platform designed to help brands and agencies streamline their social media activities. With Total Social, users can:Schedule and publish content to multiple social networks including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and more from one centralized content calendar.Engage with their audiences by...

Communecter

Communecter is an all-in-one virtual events platform designed specifically for hosting large-scale online conferences, trade shows, summits and other professional gatherings. With Communecter, event organizers can easily build custom-branded virtual environments with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface.Some key features and benefits of Communecter include:Multi-track session scheduling - Organize sessions...

Tribyo

Tribyo is a cloud-based team collaboration platform that aims to streamline workflow and enhance productivity for teams and businesses. The software brings together features like messaging, group conversations, file sharing, task management, and more into a single intuitive interface.Some key features and benefits of Tribyo include:Real-time messaging for...

NewTimeBox

NewTimeBox is a comprehensive time tracking and productivity software application designed to help individuals and teams manage their time, tasks, and projects more effectively. Its key features include:Time tracking - automatic and manual options to track time spent on tasks and projectsProductivity metrics - insights into where time is...

Friend Xone

Friend Xone is a social networking website and mobile app that allows users to connect with friends, family, coworkers, classmates, and more. It provides a personalized feed showing updates, photos, videos, events, and other content shared by those in your network.Some key features of Friend Xone include:News Feed...

Finspi

Finspi is a comprehensive yet easy-to-use financial planning and analysis software solution for finance teams. It provides capabilities for budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, and analytics to help organizations gain clear visibility into their financial health and performance.Key features of Finspi include:Flexible modeling for forecasting, budgeting, and scenario planningPowerful...

Kaverti

Kaverti is an innovative cloud-based artificial intelligence assistant designed for businesses of all sizes. It utilizes the latest advancements in AI and machine learning to help companies automate repetitive tasks, provide better customer service, and uncover data-driven insights.The virtual assistant can understand natural language, have fluid conversations, and complete...

JumzleR

JumzleR is an innovative and user-friendly image editing and collaging application. It provides a wide range of powerful tools for combining multiple photos into captivating visual creations with ease.The software includes hundreds of professionally-designed templates, fonts, overlays, animations, and other graphics that can be used to enhance images. Users...

Tokumei

Tokumei is an open-source, self-hosted web analytics platform that focuses on privacy and transparency. It allows users to track website traffic and analytics on their own server, avoiding sending data to third-parties like Google Analytics.Some key features of Tokumei include:Easy to understand metrics and visualizations for sessions, pageviews...

Pixeljab

Pixeljab is an affordable, yet powerful graphic design and photo editing software. It can be used as an alternative to Adobe Photoshop with many similar features, but at a lower price point. Some key features of Pixeljab include:Layers and masking for compositing imagesA full selection of adjustment tools like...

SocialNumber

SocialNumber is a comprehensive social media management platform designed to help brands, agencies, and marketers manage their social media presence across multiple networks. Some key features of SocialNumber include:Post scheduling and publishing to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and moreSocial inbox for monitoring mentions, messages, commentsIn-depth analytics on engagement, followers...

BabyTwit

BabyTwit is a social networking and microblogging platform designed specifically for parents of babies, toddlers, and young children. Unlike traditional platforms like Facebook and Twitter, BabyTwit creates a safe, private space just for parents to connect, get advice, and share their family's special moments.Some key features of BabyTwit include...

Kocpit

Kocpit is an open-source web-based system monitoring and management tool for Linux. It provides a graphical user interface for managing various aspects of a Linux server including:Services - Start, stop, enable, and disable system servicesStorage - Manage storage volumes and file systemsNetwork - Configure network interfaces and firewall rulesContainers...

E-Sathi

e-Sathi is an intelligent, open-source personal assistant chatbot built using the latest in natural language processing and conversational AI. It is designed to understand natural language, have human-like conversations, and help users by performing basic personal assistant tasks.Some key features of e-Sathi include:Natural language understanding - It can...

Gymmr

Gymmr is a popular fitness and workout tracking app available for iOS and Android devices. It allows users to log their workouts, set goals, track progress over time, and connect with a community of health and fitness enthusiasts.Some key features of Gymmr include:Customizable workout plans - Choose from...

BlaBlaNet

BlaBlaNet is a relatively new social media platform launched in 2019 that focuses heavily on user privacy and security. Unlike platforms such as Facebook or Twitter, BlaBlaNet employs end-to-end encryption for messages, does not use user data for advertising purposes, and has policies in place that prevent the selling of data...

Animeinterface

Animeinterface is an application designed to help anime fans manage and explore their personal anime collections. It allows users to catalog all the anime series and movies they have watched or plan to watch, along with extensive metadata like titles, ratings, genres, release dates, episode counts, and watching status.Some...

The Social Network

The Social Network is a 2010 American biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin. It is based on the founding of Facebook and the lawsuits that founder Mark Zuckerberg faced from his former colleagues.The film stars Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, the Harvard undergrad who...

PostActiv

postActiv is a social media management platform designed to help brands, agencies, and marketers manage their social media more efficiently. Some key features of postActiv include:Content scheduling and publishing: Schedule unlimited posts to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and more. You can schedule posts weeks or months in advance and...

Addamate

Addamate is an open-source computer chess engine software focused on efficient mate calculations. It utilizes advanced heuristics and pruning techniques to deeply analyze chess positions and accurately evaluate mating potential.One of the standout features of Addamate is its specialized mate finder. It employs a unique search algorithm that selectively...

DumDarac

DumDarac is an open-source, cross-platform remote access and desktop sharing software. It allows users to securely access computers and other devices remotely through an easy-to-use graphical interface or command line tools.Some key features of DumDarac include:Secure remote access using SSH and RDP protocolsFile transfer between connected devicesRemote desktop...