If there’s one thing Twitter has taught us in the last few weeks is that maybe it’s time to leave it behind. Lucky for social media enthusiasts, there are plenty of alternatives to Elon Musk. Hive Social is one of them, and its popularity is growing fast.

But why leave Twitter? If you’ve been out of the loop, things have gone pretty wild in the social media app since Elon Musk’s acquisition. Not only did the billionaire let half of Twitter’s staff go, he made some pretty drastic changes to the website.

After polling users, Musk reinstated former President Trump’s banned account. He also brought back the likes of Andrew Tate, Kanye West and Jordan Peterson. All of which, at some point, were banned or locked out of their accounts. 

All of these factors made users look for social media alternatives to keep their online following. While Mastodon caught the eye of many for its decentralized nature, Hive Social is getting a huge amount of buzz as well. 

Hive Social is a social media app that is currently mobile-only. It’s very similar to Twitter, which means you can follow people with shared interests and they can follow you back. You can also “like” a post from another user, and you can repost their content (which is basically a retweet). 

Hive is less complex than Twitter and its alternatives because of a few key differences. The app’s timeline, for one, is displayed in chronological order rather than algorithm-generated. Users can’t (yet) get verified on the app, and there’s no way to promote posts.  

Second, the only way you can interact with Hive Social is via mobile app. For now, the social media platform does not offer a desktop client for users. Which is something it’ll likely be improved in the near future. 

Users can also customize their profile a little better. With Hive Social, you can show your astrological sign, choose your pronouns and more. You can also connect with your Spotify account and have a song play whenever someone visits your profile, much like Myspace.

Finally, Hive doesn’t have a character limit on posts. That could mean good or bad news depending on who you follow. In the “discover” section, you have the ability to tailor the content you might be interested in.

Joining Hive Social is quite simple. All you need to do is download the app on your phone. The app is available for Android and iOS and it’s free of charge. After downloading it, you need to create a new account and choose a username. 

At this stage, new users can select topics they are interested in. That helps with content for the “discover” section of Hive Social. When you choose your interests, they’ll be displayed at the top of the “discover” area.

Mastodon is a decentralized social media platform that is becoming more and more popular lately. Unlike other social media platforms, Mastodon allows users to control their own data. Which means that users can choose to share as much or as little information as they want. 

If you’re leaving Twitter and are on the market for a different website to share your thoughts, follow the link below to learn more about Mastodon.