It is a lightweight, privacy-first Fediverse client for iOS, built around a simple idea: fast, small, predictable behavior, and first-class support for snac.

What makes it different:

• snac-first by design, not "compatible by accident"
• Works with all Mastodon API compatible software, including Mastodon, snac, GoToSocial, Akkoma, and others
• EXIF stripping on upload (HDR and orientation preserved)
• Optional on-device alt text generation via Apple Intelligence for your uploads and for images in your timeline
• Markdown posting for snac
• Granular notifications, grouping, multi-account
• Blocking and moderation tools
• Very small footprint, very low RAM usage

Alt text generation happens entirely on device via Apple APIs on supported hardware. Nothing is sent to external services.

It is built around my own workflow and priorities. It may not be for everyone, and that is perfectly fine.

Important note:
MastoBlaster will always be free for BSD Cafe users, illumos Cafe users, and for anyone connecting to a snac instance, including self-hosted ones.

The app is already usable, but this is still a test phase. I am looking for feedback, bug reports, and real-world usage insights.

TestFlight link:
https://testflight.apple.com/join/Pkxa5R1k

Stay tuned.

#MastoBlaster #iOS #Apple #Fediverse #Mastodon #snac #GoToSocial #Akkoma #ActivityPub

#MastoBlaster

Push Notifications and MastoBlaster

MastoBlaster, like other Fediverse apps, uses a design that maximizes user privacy.

When you log in to your instance, the app and the server exchange the necessary cryptographic keys. The app also communicates to the instance the address of the relay, which is the server responsible for forwarding notifications to Apple.

When a new notification is generated:

1. Your instance encrypts the notification.
2. It sends the encrypted payload to the relay.
3. The relay forwards it to Apple using its own authentication key.
4. Apple delivers it to your device.

The content of the notification is encrypted by your Fediverse server and can only be decrypted by your device.

The relay, which in the case of MastoBlaster is dedicated and hosted on a FreeBSD server, receives only encrypted data. It cannot read the content, does not know which account the notification belongs to, and does not store any information about the notification itself.

Apple knows which relay sent the notification and which device it must be delivered to, but it cannot access the content.

In short, only your instance and your device can read the notification.

#MastoBlaster #Fediverse #Mastodon #GoToSocial #Akkoma #iOS #Apple #PushNotifications #FreeBSD

Your snac posts can be fancy

Line breaks are respected and output as you write them.

Prepending a greater-than symbol in a line makes it a quote:

This is quoted text

All angle-prepended lines are grouped in the same blockquote

  /* this is preformatted text */
  struct node {
      struct node *prev;
      struct node *next;
  };

• One level bullet lists
• are also supported,
• by starting a line with a hyphen or asterisk followed by a space.

Links can also be written in standard Markdown style.

Some emojis: 😆 ❤️ 🍺 🤷 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Image URLs written in standard Markdown style for images are converted to ActivityPub attachments.

Three minus symbols in a line make a separator:

header level 1

header level 2

header level 3

These acrobatics are better documented in the snac(5) man page.

WHAT IS THIS SNAC THING?

Alt...

susie, snac's girl

I think there is a bug that needs fixing on @mastoblaster , the check mark on the notification page. The notifications don’t clear.

#MastoBlasterApp #Notifications

• Build 77 should have fixed the markdown rendering issues
• Build 78 should have fixed the GoToSocial char limit issue

#MastoBlaster

@mastoblaster hey I think my GTS instance has a higher character limit for my posts, but the app sets a hard limit of 500, is this intentional?

Is @mastoblaster a fork of @MonaApp or @Feditext ??? It looks very similar to both.

The difference from other Mastodon API clients is that this one has #snac as a first class citizen.

I'm so glad!

https://mastoblaster.app/ @mastoblaster@mastoblaster.app

Attention #GoToSocial people: I have been testing @mastoblaster - an iOS Fediverse client - and it's working SO WELL! It's even grouping GtS notifications... something that Ivory doesn't do.

More info here:

🔗​: https://mastoblaster.app

Congratulations @stefano for your brilliant work on it!

#snac #MastoBlaster

I forget who relatively recently was looking for an iOS client capable of working with #snac : via @elena I read about @mastoblaster which says of itself:

Built for snac, by design
Many apps support snac as a side effect. MastoBlaster makes it primary and follows snac’s Mastodon API support closely for predictable, polished behavior.

https://mastoblaster.app

Finally a #snac first FediClient! @mastoblaster

Too bad I already moved to #GoToSocial due to lack of snac supported apps at that time :(

Hello @mastoblaster about the timeline, is it automatically refreshed or do I need to pull down to refresh it?

It should be fixed now.

Sorry about that

#MastoBlaster

A new build is now available on TestFlight. I tried to solve or improve some of the issues you've kindly pointed out.

The most important ones are:

• Now dark mode can be configured to show a grey background instead of black. Less optimised for battery, but much more readable. "It works for me!"
• Added the “Bookmarks” menu item, so bookmarks can now be displayed
• VoiceOver improvements - I'm not an expert, so I hope I'm doing it right
• GoToSocial - editing posts and push notifications should now be working - Notifications needed both relay and app support. Please test!

It is a lightweight, privacy-first Fediverse client for iOS, built around a simple idea: fast, small, predictable behavior, and first-class support for snac.

What makes it different:

• snac-first by design, not "compatible by accident"
• Works with all Mastodon API compatible software, including Mastodon, snac, GoToSocial, Akkoma, and others
• EXIF stripping on upload (HDR and orientation preserved)
• Optional on-device alt text generation via Apple Intelligence for your uploads and for images in your timeline
• Markdown posting for snac
• Granular notifications, grouping, multi-account
• Blocking and moderation tools
• Very small footprint, very low RAM usage

Alt text generation happens entirely on device via Apple APIs on supported hardware. Nothing is sent to external services.

It is built around my own workflow and priorities. It may not be for everyone, and that is perfectly fine.

Important note:
MastoBlaster will always be free for BSD Cafe users, illumos Cafe users, and for anyone connecting to a snac instance, including self-hosted ones.

The app is already usable, but this is still a test phase. I am looking for feedback, bug reports, and real-world usage insights.

TestFlight link:
https://testflight.apple.com/join/Pkxa5R1k

Stay tuned.

#MastoBlaster #iOS #Apple #Fediverse #Mastodon #snac #GoToSocial #Akkoma #ActivityPub

(Posted using MastoBlaster on macOS Tahoe - which is totally usable)

#MastoBlaster

Alt...

Screenshot of the Xcode debugger timeline view showing the process “MastoBlaster” (PID 88459) running with low activity: CPU at 12%, memory usage around 77.7 MB, disk activity at 16 KB/s, and network activity at 53 KB/s, with mostly minimal spikes in the activity graphs.

#MastoBlaster has its own #Fediverse account - powered by #snac

Follow @mastoblaster to receive all the updates, insights, etc.

#iOS #Fediverse #Mastodon #snac #GoToSocial #ActivityPub

#MastoBlaster