There is a new setting for server operators in #Mastodon 4.4, under Administration -> Server Settings -> Discovery, called "Allow external sites to see your Mastodon server as a traffic source". If you're running a server for a larger group of people there is no privacy downside to enabling this, and it will help make the fediverse more visible as a traffic source to the rest of the web.
I don't know how recent this change is but I noticed #Firefox removed https:// from the address bar so now every link and every website I visit looks insecure. I know there is a padlock icon next to the address bar but it doesn't seem quite as easily scannable to me.
We've published our new terms of service for mastodon.social and mastodon.online today, effective July 1. The same template will be available as an option to other servers in the upcoming #Mastodon 4.4 update. There are no changes to our policies or operations, just clarifications, e.g. if you upload content to be displayed to other users, you give us permission to display it to other users, but you keep all rights to it. We also explicitly prohibit scraping, even though it was never allowed.
As some of you may have already noticed, in the latest #Mastodon update, we've reworked the layout of the web app for smaller screen sizes. It should be easier to navigate and more pleasant to the eye. Let me know what you think!
Apparently, if you have facebook or Instagram installed on your phone, #Meta was able to track your browsing habits and link them to your real identity even if you never logged in on the web, used incognito mode or a VPN. I hope Meta gets hit with every fine in the book.
