What is diaspora* used for?

diaspora* is a privacy-aware, distributed social network built on a federation of independently run servers called pods, written in Ruby on Rails. It is a good fit for social networking without a single corporate owner and running a pod for your own community.

Is diaspora* open source?

Yes. diaspora* is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at diaspora/diaspora and is written mainly in Ruby.

Yes. diaspora* is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.

Can I self-host diaspora*?

Yes. diaspora* can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is diaspora* an alternative to?

diaspora* is an open-source alternative to Facebook and VK. Other open-source alternatives to VK include Mastodon.

Is diaspora* actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to diaspora* was on 28 July 2026, and the latest release is v0.9.1.0, published on 7 April 2026. The project has 14k stars on GitHub.

diaspora*: open-source alternative to Facebook, VK

About diaspora*

diaspora is an open-source, decentralized social network that emphasizes privacy and user ownership of data. Instead of a single company running the service, it is made up of many independently operated servers, called pods, that are connected to each other and share content across the network.

People can join without installing anything by creating an account on one of the open servers, with guidance available on finding a suitable home. Those who want full control of their data can run their own pod using the installation guides, and FAQs are available for users, pod administrators and developers.

The software is written in Ruby on Rails and released under AGPL-3.0. Development is community-driven, with code, translations, bug reports and ideas all welcomed, and contributors are expected to follow the project's code of conduct. A SECURITY.md file explains how to report vulnerabilities responsibly.

Key features

Federated network of independent pods
Privacy-focused social networking
Sign up on any open server
Run your own pod
Documentation for users and pod administrators

Good fit for

→Social networking without a single corporate owner
→Running a pod for your own community

Built with: Ruby; Rails
Tags: social-network; federated; decentralized; privacy; ruby; rails; self-hosted; pods

diaspora*: questions and answers

What is diaspora* used for?: diaspora* is a privacy-aware, distributed social network built on a federation of independently run servers called pods, written in Ruby on Rails. It is a good fit for social networking without a single corporate owner and running a pod for your own community.
Is diaspora* open source?: Yes. diaspora* is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at diaspora/diaspora and is written mainly in Ruby.
Is diaspora* free?: Yes. diaspora* is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.
Can I self-host diaspora*?: Yes. diaspora* can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is diaspora* an alternative to?: diaspora* is an open-source alternative to Facebook and VK. Other open-source alternatives to VK include Mastodon.
Is diaspora* actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to diaspora* was on 28 July 2026, and the latest release is v0.9.1.0, published on 7 April 2026. The project has 14k stars on GitHub.