Social networks are changing, and I’m not wrong when I say that Twitter, or rather X, has changed forever. That’s why when the changes introduced by the beloved (and criticized) Elon Musk disturb society, I remember the available alternatives such as Bluesky or. Mastodon.

We don’t have to stay with X as Mastodon is a similar alternative. The only problem, at least for me, was that I didn’t feel comfortable using the official app. But this is no longer an obstacle: Megalodon is the culprit.

Looking for an alternative to the official app?

X decided it was best to block alternative applications that were giving it access. Another compelling reason to use similar services. Mastodon is a free and decentralized social networkIt works the same as X with some differences.

But I began to use it anyway, and discovered good and healthy communities in abundance in many instances. However, I found one drawback: the application has a simple but slightly outdated interface. Yes, it uses Material Design but it doesn’t follow: design lines One of the latest versions of Android.

Since I’m obsessed with the aesthetics of the apps I use on my Android phone, I started looking for a third-party app that wasn’t uncommon to find and was much better designed than the official apps. That’s what happens with MegalodonIt’s easy to find because my colleague Iván Linares named it one of the best apps of 2023.

Megalodon to Mastodon

Megalodon is a modified version of the official Mastodon app for Android, which adds important features missing in the official app.

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This Megalodon is my favorite app to use Mastodon

Like the official client, Megalodon is very lightweight: takes up only 20 megabytes when installedIdeal for mobile phones with low memory. This small size does not mean that it is not full of functions, in fact, we will see how it improves compared to the original from the first opening.

There are Material You in every corner, beautifying buttons, switches and the interface in general. Additionally, scrolling through the feed is very smooth, more noticeable on a screen with a refresh rate above 60 hertz. This is for me most different.

And if that’s not enough, settings allow you to change it completely. Let’s take a tour among them. In the ‘Behavior’ section we can configure many features, such as the use of the built-in browser or confirmations when performing an action, i.e. the behavior of the application in general.

In ‘Screen’ we are allowed to adjust the appearance. device friendly themes. What’s more, it can follow the accent color of our wallpaper, increasing the sense of consistency with Google’s operating system. Use custom emojis, minimize long posts, underline links… thousands of settings to your liking.

Then we have privacy settings, which can choose a personalized view of posts: for example, ‘Followers only’ or ‘Mentioned people’. It provides a lot of gameplay. Notifications on the other hand work very well and yes, they too can be customized in detail.

Ultimately what Megalodon gives us is “Design” our own Mastodon space, with a design language consistent with the operating system and many tools to meticulously personalize the experience. None is equal to this one, and if you are a Mastodon user, do not hesitate: it will not disappoint you.

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