2025/03/31 by Ujun Jeong, Jeong, Ujun, Lynnette Hui Xian Ng +5 · 3 voices · 1 citation
Computer Science · Social Sciences · #Blockchain Technology Applications and Security #Computers and Society (cs.CY) #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Opportunistic and Delay-Tolerant Networks #Privacy, Security, and Data Protection #Social and Information Networks (cs.SI) #cs.CY #cs.SI
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2504.00071
openalex publication_date 2025/03/31 · arxiv published 2025/03/31 · arxiv updated 2025/03/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Decentralized online social networks have evolved from experimental stages to operating at unprecedented scale, with broader adoption and more active use than ever before. Platforms like Mastodon, Bluesky, Hive, and Nostr have seen notable growth, particularly following the wave of user migration after Twitter's acquisition in October 2022. As new platforms build upon earlier decentralization architectures and explore novel configurations, it becomes increasingly important to understand how these foundations shape both the direction and limitations of decentralization. Prior literature primarily focuses on specific architectures, resulting in fragmented views that overlook how different social networks encounter similar challenges and complement one another. This paper fills that gap by presenting a comprehensive view of the current decentralized online social network landscape. We examine four major architectures: federated, peer-to-peer, blockchain, and hybrid, tracing their evolution and evaluating how they support core social networking functions. By linking these architectural aspects to real-world cases, our work provides a foundation for understanding the societal implications of decentralized social platforms.