ActivityPub for WordPress

News about the ActivityPub plugin for WordPress.

Powered by: WordPress
Plugin: https://wordpress.org/plugins/activitypub/
Code: https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub

Public Key

npub1sm6h2kzvv4rc8x4vyudh97dmxa89877j0ym3r4tjq5rjeg3k5lvs0pvq28

NIP-05 Address

activitypub.blog_at_activitypub.blog@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsgdat4tpxx23urn2kzwxmjlxanwnjnl0f8jdc364eq2pev5gm20kgprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntngswt0

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub1sm6h2kzvv4rc8x4vyudh97dmxa89877j0ym3r4tjq5rjeg3k5lvs0pvq28

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Last Notes

2026-09-02 15:10:14 UTC

It has been almost three months since 9.0.0, and eight releases: 9.0.1, 9.0.2, 9.1.0, 9.2.0, 9.2.1, 9.2.2, 9.3.0, and now 9.3.1. Together they added seven new things, closed ten security issues, and fixed close to fifty bugs, which is a very different balance than usual.
This post covers the new things first, and then explains where the rest of the summer went.##
Modern Signatures, On by DefaultEvery message your site sends to the Fediverse carries a signature, the digital equivalent of a wax seal on an envelope. In [July 2025 we wrote about the move](https://activitypub.blog/2025/07/03/http-signature-upgrades-coming-soon/ ) from the old draft format to [RFC 9421](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9421.html ), the official standard. Back then, sending with the new format was a setting for early adopters, and we promised to turn it on for everyone once the rest of the Fediverse was ready.
With 9.3.0 it is on by default. Your site now signs outgoing requests with RFC 9421, and falls back to the old format when the server on the other side does not understand it yet. For almost everyone this changes nothing you can see. Your posts keep arriving, your follows keep working.
A small number of servers advertise support for the new format but handle it differently in practice. If your posts suddenly stop arriving on one particular server after this update, you can switch back. Open the ActivityPub settings, click *Screen Options* in the top right, enable **Advanced Settings**, and turn off the modern signature format in the *Advanced* tab. Please [let us know in the support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/activitypub/ ) which server it was, so we can look into it.##
Your Podcast Travels With Its AudioIf you publish podcast episodes with [Jetpack](https://jetpack.com/ ), your episodes now federate as episodes. The audio file and the cover art travel with the post, so your followers get a playable player in their Fediverse app instead of a link they have to click through.
Version 9.1.0 did the same for [Podlove Podcast Publisher](https://wordpress.org/plugins/podlove-podcasting-plugin-for-wordpress/ ), where the episode summary now goes out with the post rather than being dropped.##
A Quieter InboxLikes, reposts, and quotes are lovely until there are two hundred of them and your email inbox has two hundred entries. Until now, switching those off meant switching off notifications for real comments and replies too.
9.3.0 separates them. There is a new notification setting that turns off emails about likes, reposts, and quotes, while comments and replies from the Fediverse keep reaching you. Reactions still show up on your post, you just stop hearing about each one individually.##
Smaller Things You Might Notice<li>Fediverse and ActivityPub logos in the editor. On WordPress 7.1 and newer, both logos are part of the block editor’s icon library, so you can use them in a Social Icons block or anywhere else an icon fits.</li><li>The follow, reply, and reaction dialogs speak up. Screen readers now announce errors in those dialogs instead of leaving people guessing why nothing happened.</li><li>Scheduled posts show the right preview. Since 9.1.0, a scheduled post shows the Fediverse Preview, so you can see what your followers will get before it goes out.</li><li>Avatars that actually update. The scheduled refresh of remote profiles was not refreshing anything. Commenters kept the avatar and bio they had when they first showed up. Fixed in 9.1.0.</li><li>Two new FAQ guides, added in 9.0.1, for the two questions we get most often: follow requests stuck on “pending”, and comments from the Fediverse not appearing on your posts.</li>##
For People Building on the Plugin9.1.0 added an actor autocomplete endpoint, so a Fediverse app connected to your site can offer typeahead search when you are mentioning someone. There is also a new filter for sites that need to federate inside a private or internal network, which mostly matters for intranets and staging setups.
In 9.3.0, apps connected through the ActivityPub API now use the standard permission names from the specification, and fetching remote content through your site counts as reading rather than posting. Apps also see the real error when a post is missing, instead of a generic failure that told them nothing.##
Where the Summer WentSeven new things in three months is not much. Here is the reason.
Since June we have had a steady stream of security reports. Ten of them became entries in the changelogs of 9.1.0 and 9.3.0, and a few more landed quietly as fixes. Every report has to be read, reproduced, judged, fixed, tested, and shipped, and the fix has to be written so it does not break the sites that already work. For a team our size that is most of a week each time, sometimes more.
This is not a complaint, and a real thank you to everyone who sent a report and then waited while we worked through the queue. Nearly all of the reports were real, and every one of them made the plugin safer for the people running it. This is responsible disclosure working the way it should. It just means the roadmap moves slower than it looks on paper, and features that were planned for July are still open.
We are not alone in this. WordPress core is seeing the same wave, and for the same reason: AI models have become good enough at reading code that finding a plausible vulnerability is now cheap. The security team wrote about it in [The Core Security Initiative](https://make.wordpress.org/security/2026/08/28/the-core-security-initiative/ ), and the project started [Protect The Shire](https://wordpress.org/news/2026/06/pts/ ) to review the code in the plugin and theme directories at a scale that was not possible before. The same tools that raise the number of reports also help everyone work through them. On balance, we think this is good for the ecosystem, even on the weeks where it does not feel like it.
In general terms, the security work in these releases covers four areas:<li>Content from other servers is cleaned before it is stored, and again before it is displayed, so what another server sends cannot influence how your site behaves.</li><li>Data that belongs to you stays yours. Your followers, the profiles your site has cached, and your reader posts are not readable by logged-out visitors, and the setting that hides your follower list is respected everywhere.</li><li>Activities are checked more strictly against the account they claim to come from, so a server cannot act on behalf of someone else.</li><li>Apps you connect can only do what you allowed them to do, and nothing wider.</li>
We are keeping this vague on purpose. The details are in the reports, and we would rather not hand a recipe to anyone whose site has not updated yet. If you run the plugin, please update.##
What the Fixes CoverThe fifty or so fixes across these releases are not one story, but they fall into a few groups:<li>Finding each other. Profiles and posts were not always found when an address contained unusual characters, or was written with different capitalisation, or when the other server answered in an unexpected shape. Several fixes make lookups work in all of those cases.</li><li>Reactions arriving once. Likes and boosts could be recorded as duplicate comments, or come back after you marked them as spam. A deletion on Mastodon did not always remove the matching comment on your site. Both are fixed.</li><li>Caching. ActivityPub responses were sometimes stored by page caches meant for regular web pages. Since 9.2.0, those responses are served only to clients that ask for ActivityPub data and nothing else, which keeps them out of caches like LiteSpeed and Surge. Support for the WP REST Cache plugin was removed as part of this.</li><li>Publishing edge cases. Posts scheduled for a future date were removed from the Fediverse when edited. Hidden page elements, like the text inside a closed dialog, ended up in the content sent to your followers. Backslashes vanished from imported titles. Small things, annoying every time.</li><li>Living with other plugins. Fixes for sites running Polylang, Jetpack, Surge, and the Mastodon importer, which was creating duplicate posts when an archive was imported twice.</li><li>Admin screens and the editor. Styles that failed to load on the Fediverse screens and in the Followers and Following blocks, an editor warning about unsaved changes that appeared right after saving, and a handful of errors that filled up log files without breaking anything visible.</li>
The full, item-by-item changelog for every release is in the [plugin’s changelog](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/trunk/CHANGELOG.md ) if you want to read it in detail.##
Get ItDownload from [WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/plugins/activitypub/ ) or grab it on [GitHub](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases ). If your site updates automatically, you already have it.
Thanks to everyone who filed a bug report with steps we could follow. Those are the ones that get fixed fastest.
Now that signatures are modern by default: does anything still deliver differently for you? And what would you like to see us build once the queue is shorter?
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2026-06-12 14:20:58 UTC

Major versions are the right moment to fix things properly instead of patching around them. In **ActivityPub plugin 9.0.0**, unpublishing a federated post sends a real Delete instead of a placeholder text, and federation can be tuned down so it doesn’t overwhelm smaller servers. The ActivityPub API moves closer to the W3C standard, and your blog can now be featured in Starter Kits, if you allow it.##
Starter Kits, With Your ConsentStarter Kits are curated lists of accounts, bundled so that others can discover and follow them in one go. You may know the idea as Starter Packs from Bluesky, and Mastodon is rolling out its own version called [Collections](https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2026/04/designing-collections/ ) with version 4.6. The name varies, the idea is the same: someone who knows a topic well puts together a list of accounts worth following, and shares it.
For blogs, discovery is the hard part of the Fediverse. A blog doesn’t post twenty times a day, so it rarely surfaces in busy timelines on its own. Being part of a Starter Kit changes that: when someone shares a “great photography blogs” kit, every person who opens it sees your blog, and following is one tap away.
One piece was missing, though: other people couldn’t add your WordPress blog to their lists, because your site never told their server who is allowed to do that. ActivityPub 9.0.0 fixes this with the new **Default Starter Kit policy** setting: **Anyone**, **Followers only**, or **Just me**. The default is “Just me”, so nothing changes unless you say so. If you want the reach, set it to “Anyone” under *Settings → ActivityPub → Activities*. Under the hood, this announces a canFeature policy on your profile, based on a new Fediverse Enhancement Proposal (FEP-7aa9) that is not published yet; we’ll link it here once it is.
The Mastodon team explains the thinking behind Collections in their [design post](https://blog.joinmastodon.org/2026/04/designing-collections/ ), and [Fedi.Tips has a guide to Mastodon’s Lists feature](https://fedi.tips/how-to-use-the-lists-feature-on-mastodon/ ), the private cousin of Collections. And since ActivityPub 8.1.0 you can import Starter Kits into WordPress under *Tools → Import*, so it works in both directions.##
Blurred Previews for Your PhotosPhotos are heavy. While they load, most Fediverse apps show an empty gray box.
The plugin now generates a [BlurHash](https://blurha.sh/ ) for every image: a tiny, blurred color preview that other Fediverse apps can show while the real photo loads. Your followers see a soft impression of the picture instead of an empty rectangle. The BlurHash website has a nice interactive demo.
The plugin uses the same blurhash property that [Mastodon documents as part of its ActivityPub extensions](https://docs.joinmastodon.org/spec/activitypub/#blurhash ), so your previews work wherever Mastodon’s do. Everything happens automatically in the background; there’s nothing to configure.##
From Placeholder to DeleteUntil now, when you moved a federated post back to draft or made it private, the plugin sent an Update with a placeholder text: *“(This post is being modified)”*. Your followers kept a copy that claimed the post was being edited, even if it never came back. That was a workaround, and a bad one: it misrepresented your content and left stale placeholders sitting in timelines across the Fediverse.
ActivityPub 9.0.0 replaces the workaround with the behavior the Fediverse expects. When a federated post moves to draft, pending, private, trash, or gets a password, the plugin now sends a **Delete** to your followers, so their servers remove their copies. Your site keeps a Tombstone in place of the post, as described in [FEP-4f05](https://w3id.org/fep/4f05 ), so it can announce the post again if you re-publish it.
**Be aware: even unpublishing a post only temporarily might delete it forever on other servers.** When you take a post down on purpose, that’s what you want. But if you plan to come back, know that whether the post comes back with you depends on the receiving server, and the boosts, favorites, and replies on the old copies are gone either way. Discourse and NodeBB restore posts like this; Mastodon currently does not, though there’s [an open issue](https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/issues/37730 ) we hope to see land soon. For now, treat unpublishing as deleting, even if you plan to publish again.
That’s why the **editor now warns you** before you make a federated post a draft, private, or password-protected. The dialog tells you that followers’ copies will be removed, so you know what will happen before you save.##
Federation That Doesn’t Overwhelm Your ServerFederation is real work. When you publish a post, the plugin sends it to every follower’s server, and each delivery is a signed HTTP request processed in the background. On a well-provisioned server, no problem. On shared hosting with a few thousand followers, that burst of background work can slow your whole site down, right at the moment your new post brings visitors in.
The new **Distribution Mode** setting exists so the plugin stays a good guest on the server it runs on. It comes with three presets:<li>Default: the current behavior, as fast as possible (100 deliveries per batch, 15 seconds pause).</li><li>Balanced: a moderate pace (50 per batch, 30 seconds pause).</li><li>Eco Mode: gentle on server resources, made for shared hosting (20 per batch, 30 seconds pause).</li>
Nothing changes unless you need it to: Default behaves exactly like before. But if your site gets sluggish after publishing, switch to Balanced or Eco Mode under the *Advanced* tab of the ActivityPub settings. Your followers get the post a few minutes later, and your server keeps breathing. A **Custom** mode with your own batch size and pause is there for fine-tuning.
The Advanced tab is hidden by default. To enable it, open the ActivityPub settings page, click *Screen Options* in the top right corner, check **Advanced Settings**, and save.
Hosting providers can pin a preset across all their sites with the ACTIVITYPUB_DISTRIBUTION_MODE constant, so a whole fleet of sites stays well-behaved without anyone touching a setting.##
Speaking Standard ActivityPubThe ActivityPub API (the plugin’s Client-to-Server implementation) keeps converging on what the W3C SWICG is standardizing. Clients can now request the **canonical SWICG scope names** like activitypub:read:all and activitypub:write:all, and the OAuth discovery metadata advertises them. Token responses include activitypub_actor_id, following the SWICG ActivityPub API Basic Profile, and rate-limit responses now carry a Retry-After header so clients know how long to wait.
None of this changes anything for existing apps. It just means new apps can connect to your site by following the standard, not our documentation.
Since this is a major version, there’s one heads-up for developers: we removed functions, methods, and the Follower class that were **deprecated in versions 7.0 through 7.4**. Everything removed has had a documented replacement for over a year, but if your plugin or theme builds on ActivityPub internals, check the changelog before updating.##
A Good Reason to Update SoonBeyond the features, 9.0.0 includes a series of security hardening fixes that keep private data private and tighten how the plugin verifies who is allowed to change what. None of them need anything from you beyond updating, which is exactly why you should update soon. The details are in the changelog below.##
Changelog###
Added<li>Add a Distribution Mode setting to control how quickly posts are delivered to followers.</li><li>Add an opt-in setting to consent to inclusion in Starter Kits (also called Starter Packs or Featured Collections). Off by default. Find it under Settings, ActivityPub, Activities.</li><li>C2S clients can now request canonical SWICG ActivityPub API scope names such as <code>activitypub:read:all</code> and <code>activitypub:write:all</code>, and the OAuth discovery metadata advertises them.</li><li>C2S token responses now include <code>activitypub_actor_id</code> so clients following the SWICG ActivityPub API Basic Profile can discover the authenticated actor.</li><li>Generate a blurred color preview (blurhash) for images so other fediverse apps can show a placeholder while your photos load.</li><li>Quote notification emails now include a link to the post that quoted you, so you can review and respond more quickly.</li><li>Warn in the editor before making a post that’s already shared on the Fediverse a draft, private, or password-protected, since followers’ copies will be removed.</li>###
Changed<li>Add the <code>blurhash</code> term to the outbound JSON-LD <code>@context</code> so attachments that include a <code>blurhash</code> property are strictly correct JSON-LD, matching Mastodon’s own context shape.</li><li>Federated posts moved to draft, pending, private, trash, or password-protected now send a Delete to followers (previously sent a placeholder “editing” Update or were silent).</li><li>OAuth rate-limit responses now include a <code>Retry-After</code> header so clients know how long to wait before retrying.</li><li>Updated a build dependency to a clean release now that a fixed version is available.</li>###
Removed<li>Removed functions, methods, and the Follower class that were deprecated in versions 7.0 through 7.4.</li>###
Fixed<li>Fix a fatal error when receiving a new follower while the Stream plugin is active.</li><li>Fix a follow request being marked as accepted when the confirmation came from a different account than the one being followed.</li><li>Fix the Fediverse settings appearing twice and visibility changes not saving in the block editor when the Classic Editor plugin is also active.</li><li>Fix the introduction video failing to load on the Getting Started help screen.</li><li>Follower synchronization with Mastodon no longer fails, signed requests with query strings now verify correctly.</li><li>Harden the Blurhash encoder: skip decompression-bomb images before decoding, flatten transparency onto white so transparent logos no longer produce near-black placeholders, and defer the cron encode until attachment metadata is saved.</li><li>Images and videos placed in a Media & Text block are now included when a post is shared to the Fediverse.</li><li>Requests from other platforms to feature your posts are now handled correctly instead of being ignored.</li><li>RSS and Atom feeds now show a simple <code>@username</code> mention in place of the reply block’s full embed card, which only renders properly when the plugin’s frontend CSS is loaded.</li><li>Stop a deprecation notice from appearing in the error log when the NodeInfo plugin is also active.</li>###
Security<li>Enforce the signing-key host check on incoming federated activities regardless of how the key identifier is formatted.</li><li>Fix the real-time activity stream so it only returns the requesting user’s own activities.</li><li>Harden the Site Health connectivity check so it cannot be used to reach unsafe network addresses.</li><li>Only share comment replies in the Fediverse when the post they belong to is itself federated, so replies on private or non-federated posts stay private.</li><li>Prevent a remote server from discovering which of your followers belong to a third-party server it does not control.</li><li>Prevent logged-in users from viewing another user’s private outbox activities.</li><li>Prevent remote servers from modifying or deleting federated profiles, posts, and interactions they do not own.</li><li>Rate-limit the remote-follow lookup to prevent it from being abused to trigger outbound requests.</li><li>Stop the OAuth token introspection endpoint from revealing another user’s token details to logged-in users.</li><li>Stop the quote-authorization stamp from exposing a post’s other metadata.</li>##
Get ItDownload from [WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/plugins/activitypub/ ) or grab it on [GitHub](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases ).
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed code, testing, bug reports, and ideas to this release. Special thanks to .
Update, and let us know what you think: will you open your blog up for Starter Kits? And does the new delete behavior match what you expected your site to do all along?
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2026-05-22 14:42:13 UTC

[Radical Speed Month](https://bsky.app/profile/automattic.com/post/3mkavah2m2k2w ) is over, and today we’re releasing the work to the public. For [four weeks](https://activitypub.blog/2026/05/05/radical-speed-month-the-reader-meets-the-fediverse/ ), we built out [the WordPress.com Reader](https://wordpress.com/reader ) so it can read and write across three networks (Bluesky, Mastodon, and the Fediverse), all from one place. The new **Social section** in the Reader’s sidebar is now live for everyone.
A full write-up will follow next week on [the WordPress.com blog](https://wordpress.com/blog/ ), covering the full experience across all three networks.
We’ve had a few excursions on this blog lately ([Radical Speed Month](https://activitypub.blog/2026/05/05/radical-speed-month-the-reader-meets-the-fediverse/ ), [ATmosphere 1.0.0](https://activitypub.blog/2026/05/20/atmosphere-1-0-0-liftoff/ )), so we want to bring the focus back to ActivityPub and the plugin.
The plugin’s [ActivityPub API](https://activitypub.blog/2026/04/22/8-1-0-by-the-numbers/ ) now powers its first real production client: the WordPress.com Reader. As a WordPress.com user, you can now read, follow, and post across the Fediverse through your WordPress blog, with every interaction tied to your blog’s own ActivityPub identity, and it all sits next to the rest of your Reader.
At the moment, this works for WordPress.com and Jetpack-connected sites (Jetpack may take a few more days to roll out fully), with self-hosted blogs coming next. Beyond that, the goal is to support any site that speaks the API. The Reader is the first client we’ve built on it, and what we learn here will also feed into the broader WordPress reading experience.##
Your WordPress site, inside the ReaderIf your WordPress.com site has [joined the Fediverse](https://wordpress.com/support/enter-the-fediverse/ ), it shows up in the Reader’s new [Social section](https://wordpress.com/reader/connections ) automatically, next to any Bluesky or Mastodon accounts you’ve connected.
Open it from the sidebar and you’ll land on a dedicated view of your blog’s Fediverse activity. The [help center](https://wordpress.com/support/reader/social/ ) has the full walk-through. Here’s what you can do there:<li>Read posts from accounts your site follows.</li><li>See your followers and the accounts your site follows back.</li><li>Follow new Fediverse accounts.</li><li>Publish short posts. Past the character limit, the composer offers to move your draft to the block editor.</li><li>Get notifications when someone follows you, mentions you, replies to a post, likes one, or boosts one.</li><li>Tap a <code>@mention</code> to open that person’s profile inside the Reader.</li>
All of this goes through the [ActivityPub API](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/#client-to-server-interactions ) on the plugin side. The plugin handles the rest: publishing, signing, federating, receiving. The same machinery your site has always used.##
What’s not in this release yetA few things still need work on the plugin or spec side before they land here:<li>Liking, boosting, and replying to other people’s posts. Those land slice by slice over the next releases.</li><li>Media in posts you publish from the Reader. Text only for now. The block editor stays the place for images.</li><li>Connecting from a self-hosted WordPress site. For now, the Reader only reaches WordPress.com and Jetpack-connected sites. Self-hosted is next.</li>##
What this means for the pluginThe plugin’s ActivityPub API has been experimental since [8.1.0](https://activitypub.blog/2026/04/22/8-1-0-by-the-numbers/ ). The Reader is the first product to drive it with real users, and that changes two things.
First, anyone building (or thinking about building) an ActivityPub client now has a real, working server to develop against. The plugin handles publishing, signing, and federation; a third-party client only needs to worry about its own surface. That means more clients become possible, and the people running the plugin get more ways to use their site, beyond the Reader.
Second, real traffic finds the kind of edge cases test cases never do. Authentication quirks, payload shapes, error paths, the things that only show up at scale. Every bug that comes out of real use is one we can fix, and the plugin becomes more reliable for everyone who runs it.##
The spec evolves, and we followThe ActivityPub API in the plugin is still experimental, and the wider spec is still being worked on. The [W3C Social Web Community Group](https://www.w3.org/community/socialcg/ ) and its [ActivityPub API task force](https://github.com/swicg/activitypub-api ) are addressing the gaps real clients run into. We follow that work and join in where we can help.
A few topics worth watching:<li>Server-local metadata on foreign objects (<a href="https://github.com/swicg/activitypub-api/issues/60" rel="noopener">activitypub-api#60</a>): how a server can pass on what it knows locally about a post (replies, likes, shares, plus a small “did this caller interact” note) when a client fetches it.</li><li>Announce side-effects from the client side (<a href="https://github.com/w3c/activitypub/issues/512" rel="noopener">activitypub/#512</a>): what the outbox should do to the local <code>shares</code> collection when a client posts an Announce.</li><li>The baseline profile (<a href="https://swicg.github.io/activitypub-api/basicprofile" rel="noopener">SWICG activitypub-api</a>): what a server should tell clients about itself, and what a client should be able to count on.</li>
If any of these are interesting to you, the discussions are open. Your feedback is welcome.##
Try itIf your WordPress.com site is Fediverse-enabled, open [the Reader](https://wordpress.com/reader ) and find your site under **Social**. Try following someone, or publishing a short note. The full walk-through is in [the help center](https://wordpress.com/support/reader/social/ ).
If you run the plugin on a self-hosted site, the same ActivityPub API is available to you, just off by default while it’s experimental. You can turn it on under *Settings → ActivityPub*, in the Advanced tab. If the Advanced tab isn’t showing, enable it from Screen Options at the top-right of the page first. The Reader doesn’t reach self-hosted sites yet, but once the API is on, any client that speaks it can already talk to your site.
If something doesn’t work, leave a comment, open an issue on the [plugin’s GitHub repository](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub ), or reply on the Fediverse. What would you like to see next?
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2026-05-20 14:27:07 UTC

This post isn’t about the ActivityPub plugin. **[ATmosphere](https://wordpress.org/plugins/atmosphere/ )** is a separate plugin from the same small team, for the other half of the open social web: the [AT Protocol](https://atproto.com/ ), the open network behind [Bluesky](https://bsky.social/ ). We’re posting about it here because the audience overlaps and the mission is the same. If there’s enough interest, we’ll spin up a dedicated blog for it. Until then, this is the closest venue.
Today is the [public 1.0.0 release on WordPress.org](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-atmosphere/releases/tag/1.0.0 ). After months of design notes, internal experiments, and a stretch of focused work alongside the ActivityPub plugin, ATmosphere has cleared the troposphere.##
What ATmosphere isWhen you publish a post, ATmosphere shares it on Bluesky *and* stores the full article on your AT Protocol account as a structured record. Bluesky replies, likes, and reposts come back as comments on your WordPress post. Approved comments from logged-in readers go the other way and appear as replies under your original Bluesky post. The same conversation lives in both places without you having to copy anything by hand.
The bet underneath is bigger than cross-posting. ATmosphere publishes [site.standard.*](https://standard.site/ ) lexicon records, so your blog itself becomes AT Protocol data, not just a link shared on Bluesky. Any compatible app can read the full article from your AT Protocol account, the same way it reads a Bluesky post. WordPress becomes a first-class participant in the network, not a visitor.##
How this differs from a cross-posterThe first question you may have is: how is this different from Jetpack Social’s Bluesky integration, or from any of the other plugins that share to Bluesky?
The answer is that they’re solving a different problem. A cross-poster gets your content in front of Bluesky users, which is a real and useful thing. But it’s still a broadcast model. Your WordPress site talks *at* Bluesky, it doesn’t participate *in* the protocol.
In practice that shakes out two ways. First, a cross-posted update creates a copy, not a connection. The post on Bluesky and the post on WordPress are separate records, and nothing in the protocol ties them together. Second, your blog itself has no identity in the network. The cross-poster authenticates as you, the person, and posts on your behalf. Your blog as an entity, with its archive and structure, is invisible to the protocol.
ATmosphere is built around making your blog itself a participant. Every publish writes two records: an app.bsky.feed.post so the update shows up in Bluesky timelines, and a site.standard.document from the [standard.site](https://standard.site/ ) lexicons that stores the full canonical article on your AT Protocol account. A bskyPostRef link ties the two together. Your blog appears in the network as a publication that other apps and aggregators can discover and read in full, not as a stream of truncated link cards.
If you want a poster, [Jetpack Social](https://jetpack.com/social/ ) is the right tool. If you want your WordPress site to *be* a place on the AT Protocol, that’s what ATmosphere is for.##
Why a third-party PDS, for nowThere’s a natural follow-up once the model clicks: if my WordPress site is acting as a Bluesky identity, why does Bluesky (or another provider) still need to be in the picture at all? Why not host the data on the site itself?
We tried that route first. About 90% of a Personal Data Server (the AT Protocol service that holds your signed records and streams them to the network) maps cleanly to PHP and a WordPress database. The remaining 10% is the firehose: [a WebSocket stream that pushes every change to the network’s relays in real time](https://atproto.com/guides/streaming-data ). PHP’s request-response model is fundamentally incompatible with persistent connections like that, and typical WordPress hosting environments aren’t designed for always-on background processes either.
The cleaner mental model turned out to be email. Even when you self-host your mail, you don’t build the mail server as a WordPress plugin. The mail server is its own piece of infrastructure that runs alongside your site. AT Protocol is the same shape. The PDS is infrastructure, not application logic. ActivityPub was designed to be implementable by any HTTP server, which is why it works as a plain WordPress plugin. AT Protocol was designed around always-on data servers, so the natural fit is a hosted PDS running next to WordPress, not inside it.
For 1.0.0, that means using whichever PDS the user already has. Most people connecting ATmosphere come in with a Bluesky account, so they already have a PDS and a DID, and borrowing that lets us focus on the parts that live on the WordPress side: the publishing pipeline, the long-form rendering, the comment round trip, the domain-as-handle handshake.
We are still pulling on a thread, though. There’s a version of this where a PDS sits comfortably alongside WordPress, ready to host your records for you, so the AT Protocol side feels just as native to WordPress as the ActivityPub side already does. Nothing to announce yet. We’ll let you know when there’s something to show 😉##
Your domain, your handleOne of the headline features: your WordPress domain becomes your Bluesky handle. Instead of @you.bsky.social, your handle reads @yourblog.com.
ATmosphere handles the verification side. It serves the right file at /.well-known/atproto-did so Bluesky can confirm the domain really belongs to you. From the settings page, it’s one click. You then open Bluesky, pick *Change Handle*, choose *I have my own domain*, enter your site, and you’re done. Same identity model Bluesky uses for its own custom domains, but the technical bit takes care of itself.##
Long posts, done rightThe hardest problem in WordPress-to-Bluesky publishing is what to do with a long article on a 300-character network. ATmosphere gives you three options from the settings page:<li>A link card, the default. A clean preview pointing back to your full post.</li><li>A single post combining the body text and the permalink, for when the post fits.</li><li>A two-post teaser thread: a hook, a body chunk, and a “continue reading” reply with the link card. The teaser surfaces reliably on bsky.app profiles, and the terminal post always offers a clear path back to the full article on your site.</li>
When you edit a threaded post, ATmosphere updates the existing Bluesky posts in place when it can, so links and replies stay connected. If you change the publishing format, ATmosphere replaces the old posts with new ones. And the full article, every paragraph of it, lives on your AT Protocol account regardless of which format you pick, so other AT Protocol-aware apps and readers can render the long version too.##
Two-way conversationsWhen someone replies, likes, or reposts your post on Bluesky, ATmosphere checks periodically and turns those reactions into WordPress comments on the matching post. Likes and reposts get their own comment types, so they show up as engagement counts rather than duplicating as text comments.
Going the other way: when a logged-in reader leaves an approved comment on a cross-posted article, it’s published to Bluesky as a reply under your original post. Edits sync. Unapprove or delete, and the corresponding Bluesky reply comes down too. Anonymous comments, trackbacks, and pingbacks are skipped. Only logged-in readers participate in the round trip.##
A few more things worth knowing<li>Backfill. A built-in tool publishes older posts to AT Protocol on demand, batched to ten at a time so it doesn’t overwhelm your server.</li><li>Post types. Choose which post types publish to AT Protocol from the settings page. Plugins and themes can opt their own custom post types in with <code>add_post_type_support( 'your_type', 'atmosphere' )</code>.</li><li>Extensible. New <code>atmosphere_publish_post_result</code> and <code>atmosphere_publish_comment_result</code> actions let other code react to publish success or failure. An <code>atmosphere_should_sync_reply</code> filter lets you suppress specific incoming replies before they become comments.</li>##
Get ItDownload from [WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/plugins/atmosphere/ ) or grab the source on [GitHub](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-atmosphere/ ).##
A dedicated blog?This blog has always been about the ActivityPub plugin, and ATmosphere is a different plugin for a different protocol, so this post is something of a guest appearance. If readers tell us they want ongoing release posts, deep dives, and roadmap notes about ATmosphere too, we’ll spin up a dedicated home for it. For now, follow along here and let us know.
A huge thank-you to everyone who shaped 1.0.0, especially [Brandon Kraft](https://kraft.blog/ ) (@npub1zk3…yjc3) and [Ryan Cowles](https://devdotdev.dev/ ), who carried huge pieces of the onboarding, settings, and publishing work over the last few months. Thanks also to the AT Protocol and Bluesky folks who’ve been generous with their time on the lexicon questions.
Try it out, point your domain at Bluesky, publish a post, and tell us what you think. What should ATmosphere do next?
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2026-05-05 06:44:35 UTC

This post is about work happening on **[WordPress.com](https://wordpress.com/ )**, specifically [the Reader](https://wordpress.com/reader ), the long-running subscription-and-reading surface that’s been part of WordPress.com since 2008. It’s a sibling effort to the [ActivityPub plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/activitypub/ ), not a feature of it. We think it matters to plugin readers anyway, because the two pieces are converging, and the converging point is what we’ll be working on next.
Two weeks ago, Automattic kicked off something internally called **[Radical Speed Month](https://bsky.app/profile/automattic.com/post/3mkavah2m2k2w )**, a four-week sprint where small teams ship fast on focused projects. We (@npub1cyc…9psj and [@pfefferle](https://wpactivitypub.wordpress.com/mentions/pfefferle/ )@mastodon.social) took the chance to spend it on something that’s been sitting at the edge of the Fediverse-and-WordPress conversation for a while: making the WordPress.com Reader speak Fediverse.
Today is roughly the halfway mark, and the picture is clearer than we expected. Here’s what shipped, what’s in flight, and what’s still ahead.##
The thesis[The Reader on WordPress.com](https://wordpress.com/reader ) has held a single, useful role for over a decade: it’s where your subscriptions live. Blogs, podcasts, RSS feeds. What it hasn’t done, yet, is read the open social web. Your Mastodon timeline lives in another app. Your Bluesky timeline lives in a third. The Fediverse is *out there*, and the Reader stays *over here*.
The Radical Speed Month bet: ship three protocol adapters in four weeks, and prove the Reader can become a universal aggregator. RSS / Google Reader API (so any reader app can use WordPress.com as a sync backend), ActivityPub (so Mastodon, Pixelfed, and friends show up natively), and ATProto / Bluesky (because that’s where a real chunk of the social-web conversation has gone). One Reader, every protocol you care about.
If you’ve been following the ActivityPub plugin for a while, you already know one half of this story, your blog speaking *out* to the Fediverse. The other half is reading *in*, and that’s where this month’s work concentrates.##
What’s already landed###
Reader as a sync backendAny Google Reader-compatible app can now point at WordPress.com and use it as a sync backend. That includes [Reeder](https://reederapp.com/ ), [NetNewsWire](https://netnewswire.com/ ), [ReadKit](https://readkit.app/ ), lire, [Unread](https://www.goldenhillsoftware.com/unread/ ), [Fiery Feeds](https://cocoacake.net/apps/fiery/ ), Feed Me, and Read You. The auth onboarding is short, and your subscriptions, read state, and stars sync across whichever app you actually like. We’re working on a setup guide that walks through the steps for the most common apps; it should land soon.
This wasn’t directly Fediverse work, but it’s part of the same idea: the Reader as a backend, not a destination. If your reading habit lives in a different app, that’s fine. Your subscriptions still live on WordPress.com.###
Bluesky timelines, threads, and profilesThe Bluesky / ATProto adapter has moved further than the original plan suggested.
You can:<li>Connect a Bluesky account through the Reader’s connections panel, with a Verify step that confirms the handshake works on both sides.</li><li>Read your Bluesky home timeline as a tab in the Reader, with native rendering for facets, embeds, and quote posts.</li><li>Follow links inward, opening a thread in the Reader, viewing an author’s profile, browsing their posts / replies / media filter tabs, following a hashtag.</li><li>Follow and unfollow Bluesky accounts directly from the profile pages.</li><li>Like posts, repost posts, and reply to posts. A shared composer for replies is in late review.</li>
The remaining piece on the Bluesky side is **quote-posting** and **deleting your own posts**, which we’re shipping together. After that, Bluesky is a complete first-class tab in the Reader.###
Mastodon, the same shapeMastodon followed the same pattern: connect, verify, then a steady cadence of small additions like timeline, in-app threads, author profile and feed (with Posts / Replies / Media filter tabs), and tag and hashtag feeds. All of those are live for Mastodon today.
What’s still coming on the Mastodon side is the equivalent of the Bluesky interaction work (favourite, boost, reply, quote) built on the same shape that worked for Bluesky. Expect those to land in the second half of this month.##
How this connects to the pluginIf you read [8.1.0 — By the Numbers](https://activitypub.blog/8-1-0-by-the-numbers ), you’ll have noticed a small line in the announcement: [the plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/activitypub/ ) now exposes an [**ActivityPub API**](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/#client-to-server-interactions ). It’s experimental, behind a feature flag, and lets third-party apps create, edit, and delete posts on your blog the way they would post to a Mastodon account.
That work isn’t an accident. It’s one half of a bridge, and Radical Speed Month is the other half.
The Mastodon-in-Reader work that shipped this month is *user-level*: you connect your Mastodon account once, and the Reader can sync your Mastodon timeline regardless of where your blog lives. That’s a useful starting point, but it’s not the only path forward. The model we’ve been working toward for a year is *blog-level*: each ActivityPub-enabled WordPress blog as its own social identity inside the Reader, with the plugin providing the actor and the [ActivityPub API](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitypub/#client-to-server-interactions ) providing the connection.
That work is **on the schedule for the second half of the month**. The radical-speed pace gave us proof first: timelines, threads, profiles, and interactions can all run through one shared pattern, with two networks already validating it. With the pattern in place and the plugin’s ActivityPub API ready to talk to, the blog-level path slots into the same architecture, letting your plugin-enabled blog appear as an ActivityPub identity in the Reader sidebar, with its inbox, its outbox, and its real ActivityPub follow graph. And because the API is part of the ActivityPub standard, the same path works for any Reader or client that speaks it, not just WordPress.com.##
What’s still plannedA short list of what we’re chasing for the second half of the month and just past it:<li>Quote-posting and delete-your-own-post for both Bluesky and Mastodon, the last pieces of the interaction set.</li><li>A shared composer that handles replies, quote-posts, and standalone posts across networks. Already in progress on the Bluesky side; Mastodon plugs in next.</li><li>Disconnect, a clean way to remove a Mastodon or Bluesky connection from the Reader.</li><li>Blog-level ActivityPub, the design pass and first slices for plugin-enabled blogs as first-class Reader identities. The user-level work proved the pattern; this is where the plugin and the Reader actually meet.</li><li>Tightening the shared pattern so adding the next network (Threads, Pixelfed, whatever comes after) is incremental work.</li><li>Wrap-up, a metrics snapshot, an honest retrospective, and the heads-up notes our customer-support folks need before the work goes broad.</li>##
A note on speedA month feels short to ship three protocols’ worth of reading, profiles, and interactions. It’s worth saying out loud: this didn’t happen because we worked unsustainable hours. It happened because we sat with the design for months, picked a shape that lets each protocol reuse the same plumbing, and broke the work into pieces small enough that any one was reviewable in a day or two. “Radical speed” turned out to mean: a backlog of careful design, drained quickly.##
What this means for youIf you run an ActivityPub-enabled WordPress blog, whether on WordPress.com or self-hosted, the practical takeaway is small for now and meaningful soon. The plugin’s ActivityPub API in 8.1.0 is the foundation for your blog showing up as a real social identity inside any Reader or app that speaks the same protocol. [The WordPress.com Reader](https://wordpress.com/reader ) is the first concrete target, but the universality matters: any client that implements the standard can talk to your plugin-enabled blog the same way.
Already, the work this month means there’s now a Reader on WordPress.com that knows how to read the Fediverse alongside RSS and Bluesky. That’s a meaningful thing to have built, and the bridge from your plugin-enabled blog to that Reader is what the second half of the month is about.##
Tell us what you’d like to seeWe’ll keep posting updates as the month closes out. If you have thoughts on what blog-level ActivityPub in the Reader should look like, what protocols you’d want next, or how the plugin’s ActivityPub API should evolve to make this seamless, leave a comment on [the plugin’s GitHub repository](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub ) or reply on the Fediverse. We read every message.
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2026-04-02 12:59:25 UTC

One of the best things about the Fediverse is that conversations happen everywhere, across Mastodon, WordPress, Pixelfed, and dozens of other platforms. One of the trickiest things about the Fediverse is finding those conversations in the first place.
Hashtags have always been the Fediverse’s answer to discovery. But because the network is decentralized, the posts you see for any given hashtag depend on which servers yours already knows about. If nobody on your server follows someone who posted about #WordPressFederation, you’ll never see that post, even though it’s public and out there.
[tags.pub](https://tags.pub/ ) changes that.##
What Is tags.pub?tags.pub is a global hashtag server built by the [Social Web Foundation](https://socialwebfoundation.org/2026/03/17/introducing-tags-pub/ ), a nonprofit dedicated to growing the open social web, and an organization [Automattic is proud to partner with](https://socialwebfoundation.org/ ).
The idea is simple: tags.pub collects publicly posted content from across the Fediverse and redistributes it based on hashtags. When you follow a hashtag account like @npub1h8l…r2lm, you’ll see posts tagged #photography from servers your instance might never have heard of. It fills in the gaps that decentralization naturally creates.
The project is [open source](https://github.com/social-web-foundation/tags.pub ) (AGPL-3.0), privacy-conscious, it doesn’t store post content, images, or media, and respects user controls like #NoTagsPub and #NoBots opt-outs.##
How It Works on WordPress.comIf you’re running a WordPress.com site with the ActivityPub plugin, there’s nothing to configure. tags.pub already works out of the box. Your public posts and their hashtags are discoverable across the Fediverse through tags.pub, and you can follow hashtag accounts from your Following page.##
Connecting a Self-Hosted WordPress SiteFor self-hosted WordPress sites, head to **Settings → ActivityPub → Settings** and scroll to the **Relay** section. Add one of these URLs:<li>Inbox: <code>https://tags.pub/user/_____relay_____/inbox</code></li><li>Shared Inbox: <code>https://tags.pub/shared/inbox</code></li>
This creates a one-way connection where your server sends public posts to tags.pub for hashtag distribution, and your posts become part of the global hashtag network.##
Following HashtagsOnce connected, you can also follow specific hashtags by searching for them as accounts. For example, to follow #WordPress posts from across the entire Fediverse, follow:<code><div>@npub1pvp…mzwu</div></code>
Any publicly tagged post that reaches tags.pub will be boosted by that account into your timeline. When posts are edited or deleted, tags.pub updates accordingly.##
Privacy and Controltags.pub is designed with user agency in mind:<li>Opt out anytime by adding <code>#NoTagsPub</code> or <code>#NoBots</code> to your bio, your posts won’t be boosted.</li><li>Block the domain entirely if you prefer not to interact with the service at all.</li><li>No content storage, tags.pub doesn’t archive your posts, images, or media. It only maintains boost records.</li><li>Respects blocks, if someone blocks tags.pub, their content stays out.</li>##
A Step Toward Better DiscoveryDiscoverability is one of the areas we’ve identified on [our 2026 roadmap](https://activitypub.blog/2026/02/11/roadmap-2026-charting-the-stars-of-the-open-social-web/ ) as a key challenge, and services like tags.pub are exactly the kind of infrastructure that helps solve it. By connecting WordPress sites to a global hashtag network, your posts can reach people who care about the same topics, even if they’ve never heard of your blog before.
If you’re already using ActivityPub for WordPress, connecting to tags.pub takes less than a minute. Give it a try and let us know how it works for you. Have you noticed more engagement from the wider Fediverse? We’d love to hear about your experience.
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2026-03-05 15:45:56 UTC

Every major version is a milestone, and 8.0.0 is no exception. Your WordPress blog just became a two-way street in the Fediverse. Visitors can like and boost your posts directly on your site. Media from federated replies is handled more reliably, and new block patterns make it easy to drop ActivityPub features into your pages.##
Like and Boost, Right From Your BlogThe Fediverse Reactions block now has optional **Like** and **Boost** action buttons, inline with each reaction group. When a visitor clicks one, a modal opens where they can enter their Fediverse handle or copy the post URL to interact from their home server.
The plugin remembers the visitor’s profile in their browser, so the second time around it’s even faster. And for folks who aren’t familiar with how the Fediverse works, each modal now includes a collapsible **“Why do I need to enter my profile?”** help section that explains the open social web in plain language.
This dramatically lowers the friction for cross-platform engagement.##
Block Patterns and TemplatesSetting up a Fediverse-ready profile page used to mean manually assembling Follow Me, Extra Fields, and Followers blocks. Not anymore.
We’ve added a **“Fediverse” block pattern category** with four pre-configured layouts:<li>Author Profile with Follow, a compact profile card.</li><li>Fediverse Follow Page, a full-page follow experience.</li><li>Author Header with Follow, great for author archive headers.</li><li>Fediverse Sidebar, drop it into any sidebar or widget area.</li>
If you’re running a block theme on WordPress 6.7+, there’s also a new **Author Archive (Fediverse)** block theme template ready to go.##
Publish Smarter With Post Format SuggestionsA new **pre-publish panel** now analyzes your post content and suggests an appropriate post format when your object type is set to “Post Format.” Got a post that’s mostly images? It’ll nudge you toward the Image format. A video post? Video format.
This matters because media-focused Fediverse platforms like Pixelfed and Vernissage display Notes differently than Articles, so choosing the right format means your content looks its best everywhere it lands.##
Community SnippetsWe’ve added a snippets/ folder to the GitHub repository, a home for lightweight, community-contributed extensions that don’t belong in the core plugin but are too useful to lose. The first batch includes:<li><a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/tree/trunk/snippets/fediblog-tag">FediBlog Tag</a>, automatically adds <code>#FediBlog</code> to standard blog posts for better Fediverse discovery.</li><li><a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/tree/trunk/snippets/locale-from-tags">Locale from Tags</a>, derives post locale from taxonomy tags.</li><li><a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/tree/trunk/snippets/bot-account">Bot Account</a>, marks your profile as automated and displays a “BOT” badge in the Fediverse.</li><li><a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/tree/trunk/snippets/blockless-activitypub">Blockless ActivityPub</a>, renders Fediverse reactions as pure server-side HTML, no JS required.</li><li><a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/tree/trunk/snippets/photon">Photon CDN</a>, serves cached remote media through Jetpack’s Photon CDN for faster delivery.</li>
Got a snippet of your own? Check out the [snippets folder](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/tree/trunk/snippets ) and send a PR.##
Smarter Media CachingUnder the hood, we’ve rebuilt how the plugin handles remote media, avatars, emoji, images, audio, and video from across the Fediverse. Instead of importing everything into the WordPress Media Library at insert time, media is now wrapped in custom blocks and **cached lazily at render time**.
What does that mean for you? Faster processing of incoming content, less disk usage, and better rendering of audio and video attachments. Original remote URLs are preserved in block attributes, so caches can be regenerated without data loss. If you’re using Jetpack’s Site Accelerator, that works too, the new system is built filter-first.
For site admins, there are new CLI commands to keep things tidy:<code><div>wp activitypub cache status</div><div>wp activitypub cache clear</div></code>##
Minimum PHP 7.4With WordPress 7.0 deprecating PHP 7.2 and 7.3, we’ve raised the minimum requirement to **PHP 7.4**. This lets us clean up compatibility polyfills and use more modern PHP features going forward. If you’re still on an older version, update your PHP before updating the plugin.##
Changelog###
Added<li>Add a help section to interaction dialogs explaining the Fediverse and why entering a profile is needed.</li><li>Add a notice on the Settings page to easily switch from legacy template mode to automatic mode.</li><li>Add a pre-publish suggestion that recommends a post format for better compatibility with media-focused Fediverse platforms.</li><li>Add a Site Health check that warns when plugins are causing too many federation updates.</li><li>Add backwards compatibility for the <code>ACTIVITYPUB_DISABLE_SIDELOADING</code> constant and <code>activitypub_sideloading_enabled</code> filter from version 7.9.1.</li><li>Add bot account snippet that marks ActivityPub profiles as automated accounts, displaying a “BOT” badge on Mastodon and other Fediverse platforms.</li><li>Add Cache namespace for remote media caching with CLI commands, improved MIME validation, and filter-based architecture.</li><li>Add federation of video poster images set in the WordPress video block.</li><li>Add Locale from Tags community snippet.</li><li>Add optional Like and Boost action buttons to the Fediverse Reactions block, allowing visitors to interact with posts from their own server.</li><li>Add pre-built Fediverse block patterns for easy profile, follow page, and sidebar setup.</li><li>Add snippet for blockless fediverse reactions.</li><li>Add <code>wp activitypub fetch</code> CLI command for fetching remote URLs with signed HTTP requests.</li>###
Changed<li>Improved active user counting for NodeInfo to include all federated content types and comments.</li><li>Improve language map resolution to strictly follow the ActivityStreams spec.</li><li>Superseded outbox activities are now removed instead of kept, reducing clutter in the outbox.</li><li>The minimum required PHP version is now 7.4.</li>###
Fixed<li>Accept incoming activities from servers that use standalone key objects for HTTP Signatures.</li><li>Fix a crash on servers where WordPress uses FTP instead of direct file access for media caching.</li><li>Fix a crash when receiving posts from certain federated platforms that send multilingual content.</li><li>Fix automatic cleanup of old activities failing silently on sites with large numbers of outbox, inbox, or remote post items.</li><li>Fix comment count to properly exclude likes, shares, and notes.</li><li>Fix follow button redirect from Mastodon not being recognized.</li><li>Fix modal overlay not covering the full screen on block themes.</li><li>Fix outbox invalidation canceling pending Accept/Reject responses to QuoteRequests for the same post.</li><li>Fix QuoteRequest handler to derive responding actor from post author instead of inbox recipient.</li><li>Fix reactions block buttons inheriting theme background color on classic themes.</li><li>Fix reactions block layout on small screens and remove unwanted button highlight when clicking action buttons.</li><li>Fix signature verification rejecting valid requests that use lowercase algorithm names in the Digest header.</li><li>Fix soft-deleted posts being served instead of a tombstone when the post is re-saved.</li><li>Improve compatibility with federated services that use a URL reference for the actor’s public key.</li><li>Improve handling of all public audience identifiers when sending activities to followers and relays.</li><li>Prevent private recipient lists from being shared when sending activities to other servers.</li>##
Get ItDownload from [WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org/plugins/activitypub/ ) or grab it on [GitHub](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/ ). Remember to check your PHP version first — 7.4 or higher is now required.
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed code, testing, bug reports, and ideas to this release. Special thanks to @npub1zk3…yjc3, @npub1cyc…9psj, and @npub1fyy…rjhv for their snippet contributions.
Update, try out those Like and Boost buttons, and let us know what you think — what’s the feature you’ve been waiting for? What would you like to see next?
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2026-02-05 14:04:11 UTC

Every now and then, it’s time to tidy things up.
Version **7.9.0** is a spring-cleaning release: fewer rough edges, better defaults, and a lot of small improvements that make the plugin feel smoother and more predictable in daily use. No big rewrites — just many thoughtful fixes and refinements.
And yes, there’s one change you’ll notice immediately.##
Emoji, But Make Them Emoji 🎺Custom emoji from the Fediverse now finally show up as… emoji.
Instead of seeing placeholders like :sad_trombone:, federated posts now render the actual custom emoji they were meant to display. It’s a small detail, but one that makes conversations feel more human, and a lot less like reading raw markup.
Sometimes polish really is about the little things.##
A Healthier, More Predictable Setup 🩺A quiet but important part of this release focuses on **making things fail less often — and recover better when they do**.
Version 7.9.0 adds new **Site Health checks** to detect common issues that can silently break federation, including missing scheduled events and security plugins blocking REST API access. When possible, the plugin now attempts to repair these problems automatically.
We also tightened up activity scheduling and outbox processing to reduce edge cases where federation could stall or behave inconsistently. These changes don’t add new buttons or screens, but they make ActivityPub for WordPress more resilient in real-world setups.##
Following, Reading, and the Social Graph 👥This release also includes a few improvements that move us one step closer to **full Reader support** — while keeping things deliberately cautious.
With the new Fediverse Following block and Extra Fields improvements, it’s now much easier to build a proper profile page in WordPress, similar to what many other Fediverse platforms offer. You can surface who you follow and how you present yourself, using blocks instead of custom code.
The Reader itself remains **behind a feature flag** and is still considered experimental. This release focuses on preparing the surrounding pieces — navigation, feedback, and presentation — rather than enabling it by default.
If you’re curious about where this is heading, you can enable the feature and try it out today. As with earlier previews, feedback is very welcome and helps shape what full Reader support will eventually look like. ([See the initial Reader announcement for upgrade notes and details](https://activitypub.blog/2025/12/17/7-8-0-happy-holidays/ ).)##
Changelog 🪵###
Added<li>Add Fediverse Following block to display accounts the user follows.</li><li>Add global default quote policy setting that can be overridden per-post.</li><li>Add health check to verify scheduled events are registered and auto-repair if missing.</li><li>Add location support for posts using WordPress Geodata post meta fields.</li><li>Add Podlove Podcast Publisher integration for podcast episode federation.</li><li>Add site health check to detect when security plugins block REST API access.</li><li>Add Social Web item to the admin bar for quick access to the reader.</li><li>Add soft delete support with Tombstone objects when post visibility changes to local/private.</li><li>Custom emoji from the fediverse now show up instead of looking like :sad_trombone:.</li><li>Make actor table columns filterable.</li><li>Send Add/Remove activities when changing a post’s sticky status to improve interoperability with the featured collection.</li><li>Show warning instead of reply link when logged-in user cannot federate replies to fediverse comments.</li>###
Changed<li>Defer outbox processing to async execution to improve publishing performance.</li><li>Move Jest mocks to tests/js directory for better project organization.</li><li>Remove redundant __nextHasNoMarginBottom props now that @wordpress/components 32.0.0 defaults to true.</li><li>Revert to synchronous outbox processing with improved timeout handling and WebFinger error caching.</li>###
Fixed<li>Don’t filter the comment query when type__not_in has been set.</li><li>Filter comments on ActivityPub posts from REST API responses.</li><li>Fix duplicate media attachments when featured image is also in post content.</li><li>Fixed Federated Reply block embed appearing squished at 200×200 pixels for same-site embeds by passing explicit width to wp_oembed_get().</li><li>Fixed pagination metadata leaking when “Hide Social Graph” privacy setting is enabled.</li><li>Fix migration activities not being scheduled for federation due to hook registration timing.</li><li>Fix older comments with empty type not being federated.</li><li>Fix quote requests from Mastodon not being received.</li><li>Fix users not being accessible after re-enabling ActivityPub capability.</li><li>Hide admin REST API endpoints from discovery index.</li><li>Show informational notice when trying to follow an already-followed account.</li><li>Skip fetching public audience identifiers which are not actual recipients.</li>##
Downloads<li>WordPress.org: <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/activitypub.7.9.0.zip" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">activitypub.7.9.0.zip</a></li><li>GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases/tag/7.9.0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tag/7.9.0</a></li>##
Thank You 💛✨A huge thank you to everyone who tested early builds 🧪, filed bug reports 🐞, shared feedback 💬, reviewed pull requests 🔍, or helped improve docs 📚. Your input directly shaped many of the fixes and cleanups in this release.
And thanks to everyone running ActivityPub for WordPress out in the wild 🌍 — that’s where spring cleaning really shows what needs sweeping 🧹.
You make this project better, one emoji (and one fix) at a time 🥰
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2026-01-12 09:03:38 UTC

In June, we published our **[2025 roadmap: Building the Future of WordPress Federation](https://activitypub.blog/2025/06/11/our-2025-roadmap-building-the-future-of-wordpress-federation/?utm_source=chatgpt.com )**, outlining the areas we wanted to focus on for the rest of the year.
As we step into 2026, it’s time to look back at how the roadmap held up and what we shipped in 2025.##
2025 at a Glance2025 turned out to be an ambitious and, at times, challenging timeline. Even so, we were able to make meaningful progress across most of the areas we set out to work on.
Over the course of the year, we introduced the **Following feature**, significantly expanded **moderation tooling**, refined **actor handling**, and improved the reliability and performance of core federation workflows. Along the way, we also shipped a **first experimental draft of the Reader**, offering an early look at what reading the Fediverse inside WordPress could become.
Not everything on the roadmap was completed, but we’re happy with how much we were able to achieve and with the foundations that are now in place for what comes next.##
RoadmapBelow is a review of the roadmap topics we outlined for 2025, what we worked on, and what remains open.###
Followers / Following ✅Work in 2025 expanded ActivityPub beyond followers by **introducing the Following feature**, allowing WordPress sites and users to actively follow accounts on the Fediverse.
Alongside this, we improved the reliability and performance of **both follower and following lists**, including better synchronization across instances and faster resolution and display of large collections.
This work also laid the foundation for later features, such as the experimental Reader.
**Related release posts:**<li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/11/12/7-6-0-command-sync-go/">7.6.0 — Command, Sync & Go</a></li><li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/12/04/7-7-0-extra-quotable/">7.7.0 — Extra Quotable</a></li><li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/12/17/7-8-0-happy-holidays/">7.8.0 – Happy Holiday</a></li>###
Actors ✅ We continued refining how local and remote actors are represented and resolved. Internal refactors reduced special-case handling and improved consistency and performance across actor resolution, including follower, following, and block lists.
This work primarily affected internal behavior rather than user-facing UI.
**Related release posts:**<li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/11/12/7-6-0-command-sync-go/">7.6.0 — Command, Sync & Go</a></li><li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/12/04/7-7-0-extra-quotable/">7.7.0 — Extra Quotable</a></li>###
Moderation ✅ In 2025, ActivityPub-specific moderation was significantly expanded. Site-wide and personal blocking now cover **domains, keywords, and individual actors**, with consistent checks applied to incoming activities.
We added **blocklist subscriptions** with scheduled syncing and **bulk domain imports**, including support for community-maintained lists such as the **IFTAS DNI list**. Moderation handling was also refined with improved reject behavior for quote interactions.
**Related release posts:**<li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/11/12/7-6-0-command-sync-go/">7.6.0 — Command, Sync & Go</a></li><li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/12/04/7-7-0-extra-quotable/">7.7.0 — Extra Quotable</a></li><li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/12/17/7-8-0-happy-holidays/">7.8.0 – Happy Holidays</a></li>###
Reader 🧪 An experimental Reader UI was introduced behind a feature flag. When enabled, it adds a “Social Web” area to the dashboard where posts and shares from followed accounts can be read inside WordPress.
The feature is disabled by default and explicitly marked as experimental.
**Related release posts:**<li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/12/17/7-8-0-happy-holidays/">7.8.0 – Happy Holidays</a></li>###
Direct Messages ⏸️ Direct Messages were not implemented in 2025. This remains an open roadmap topic for future consideration once related foundations mature further.###
Fully Delete Profiles ✅ Deletion semantics were improved to better support explicit federated cleanup. Delete activities are now sent when WordPress users are removed, and deletion-related handling was aligned across activity processing.
A CLI-based self-destruct command was introduced to allow site owners to explicitly remove their site’s federated presence.
**Related release posts:**<li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/08/28/7-3-0-ctrl-fed-delete/">7.3.0 – Ctrl+Fed+Delete</a></li>###
Client-to-Server API ⏸️ Client-to-Server API support was not implemented in 2025. No user-facing features shipped under this topic.##
Beyond the RoadmapWhile the roadmap helped guide our focus in 2025, not everything that shipped was planned from the start. Some features emerged from day-to-day usage, feedback, and practical needs that became clearer over time.
A few of those are worth highlighting.###
QuotesSupport for quote interactions improved significantly over the year. We refined detection and handling of quoted replies and links, added proper handling for quote comments, and improved how quote permissions are revoked when quoted content is deleted. This made quoted interactions more reliable and consistent across instances.
**Related release posts:**<li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/12/04/7-7-0-extra-quotable/">7.7.0 — Extra Quotable</a></li><li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/12/17/7-8-0-happy-holidays/">7.8.0 – Happy Holidays</a></li>
**Onboarding**
We also improved onboarding for new users by adding clearer guidance and better defaults after plugin activation. This helped reduce friction for sites federating for the first time and made initial setup more approachable.
**Related release posts:**<li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/06/24/what-we-shipped-so-far-in-2025/">What we shipped so far in 2025</a></li><li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/11/12/7-6-0-command-sync-go/">7.6.0 — Command, Sync & Go</a></li>
**Extra Fields UI**
While not originally planned as a roadmap item, work on Extra Fields resulted in a more flexible and user-friendly UI. New blocks and layout options made it easier to display federated profile data in different formats, allowing themes to choose how much structured information to surface.
**Related release posts:**<li><a href="https://activitypub.blog/2025/12/04/7-7-0-extra-quotable/">7.7.0 — Extra Quotable</a></li>##
Wrapping upLooking back, 2025 was a year of steady progress. We focused on the foundations we set out to improve, shipped meaningful features along the way, and left room for unplanned work that addressed real needs as they came up.
**Now we’d love to hear from you**: What was your favorite feature this year? What are you most excited about and what do you still miss or hope to see next?
Your feedback has shaped this project throughout 2025, and it continues to guide where we go from here. We’re already working on our **2026 timeline**, and your ideas, experiences, and questions are an important part of that process.
Thanks for being part of the journey and see you on the Fediverse.
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2025-12-17 17:06:56 UTC

As the year winds down, we’ve wrapped up a release that brings better moderation tools, a new way to display reactions, and a small surprise, just in time for the holidays.##
Stronger Tools for ModerationModeration can be hard work, especially on the Fediverse, where conversations flow in from all directions. This release introduces new tools that help you stay in control with less manual effort.
You can now **subscribe to shared blocklists** and let the plugin keep them up to date automatically. Subscribed lists are synced on a weekly cadence, so changes made upstream are reflected on your site without you having to lift a finger.
On top of that, we’ve added a **bulk domain blocklist importer**. You can upload a CSV or plain text file, including Mastodon-style exports, and quickly add large numbers of domains at once. To make it even easier to get started, the importer includes a one-click option for the popular community-maintained [IFTAS DNI list](https://about.iftas.org/library/iftas-dni-list/ ) ([@about.iftas.org](https://about.iftas.org )).
Together, these features make moderation more scalable and less stressful, so you can spend more time engaging and less time firefighting.##
Reactions, Your WayReactions are a big part of how conversations feel alive on the Fediverse, and now you have more control over how they appear on your site.
The **Fediverse Reactions block** gained a new **Summary** display style. Instead of showing a facepile of avatars, this option presents reactions as clean, inline counters for comments, likes, boosts, and replies. It’s a great fit for minimal layouts, feeds, or sites where avatars are disabled.
You can switch between the classic facepile and the new summary style directly in the block settings. And if avatars are turned off in discussion settings, the block automatically falls back to the summary view.##
A Sneak Peek at the Reader (Experimental)One more thing, for the curious among you, there’s now an early preview of the **ActivityPub Reader**, hidden behind a feature flag in the Advanced settings tab. If you don’t see it yet, open Screen Options at the top right of the ActivityPub settings page, check “Advanced Settings,” and save. That reveals the Advanced tab where you can enable the Reader.
When enabled, this adds a new **“Social Web”** submenu to your Dashboard menu item. An place where you can read posts and shares from accounts you follow, turning your WordPress admin into a lightweight Fediverse reader.
Because this is still very much a work in progress, the Reader is **disabled by default** and clearly marked as experimental. The UI, behavior, and feature set will change significantly in future releases as we explore what a great native Fediverse reading experience inside WordPress could look like.
If you enjoy testing new ideas, we’d **love to hear your feedback**, whether it’s bug reports, rough edges you’ve noticed, or ideas about what this Reader should become. Early input helps shape where this goes next, so feel free to share your thoughts in whatever form works best for you.##
Changelog###
Added[](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/945b06c20c6f0db1d6ef23e56686a95a5d1844f1/CHANGELOG.md#added )<li>Add blocklist subscriptions for automatic weekly synchronization of remote blocklists.</li><li>Add compact display style to Reactions block that hides avatars.</li><li>Add domain blocklist importer for bulk importing blocked domains.</li><li>Add image optimization for imported attachments (resize to 1200px max, convert to WebP).</li><li>Add local caching for remote actor avatars.</li><li>Add relay mode to forward public activities to all followers.</li><li>Add scheduled cleanup for remote posts, preserving posts with local user interactions.</li><li>Add site health check to warn when DISABLE_WP_CRON may impact ActivityPub functionality.</li><li>Add Social Web Reader for browsing ActivityPub content directly in WordPress admin.</li><li>Delete remote posts on plugin uninstall.</li><li>Mastodon importer now imports self-replies as comments, preserving thread structure.</li>###
Changed[](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/945b06c20c6f0db1d6ef23e56686a95a5d1844f1/CHANGELOG.md#changed )<li>Cache expensive operations in Post transformer to improve performance.</li><li>Improve performance and reliability of @-mention detection.</li><li>Reduce federated content size by removing unnecessary HTML attributes.</li><li>Skip downloading video and audio attachments, embedding remote URLs directly to avoid storage limits.</li><li>Use stable term_id-based IDs for Term transformer to ensure federation consistency.</li><li>Wrap blocked domains and keywords tables in collapsible details element.</li>###
Fixed[](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/945b06c20c6f0db1d6ef23e56686a95a5d1844f1/CHANGELOG.md#fixed )<li>Respect WordPress “show avatars” setting for remote actor avatars. </li><li>Ensure NodeInfo accurately represents site administrators to the Fediverse.</li><li>Fediverse Followers block now works correctly when the “Hide Social Graph” privacy option is enabled.</li><li>Fix NodeInfo documents to comply with schema specification.</li><li>Follow Me block button-only style now respects width settings from the inner Button block.</li><li>Preserve whitespace inside preformatted elements when federating content.</li>##
Downloads<li>WordPress.org: <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/activitypub.7.8.0.zip" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">activitypub.7.8.0.zip</a></li><li>GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases/tag/7.8.0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tag/7.8.0</a></li>##
Holiday ThanksA special thank-you to everyone who joined us during the recent **[office hours](https://activitypub.blog/2025/11/25/join-us-for-office-hours-dec-1-5/ )** — for the questions, the thoughtful feedback, and the great conversations about where ActivityPub for WordPress should go next. Talking directly with you helps shape these releases more than any roadmap ever could.
**See you in 2026 — and happy holidays!**
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2025-10-01 13:38:56 UTC

We’re back with a fresh release, and this one makes following and sharing smoother than ever—plus gives you more control over how your posts can be quoted.<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="12" height="12" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 12 12"><path fill="#fff" d="M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z"></path></svg>##
A New Way to Follow (For Now)Starting today, users on WordPress.com sites and self-hosted sites connected through Jetpack can see the posts of accounts they follow **directly in their WordPress.com Reader timeline**. The Following UI has been around for a little while, yet hidden, and with this release it will be **enabled by default** for these sites.
When you follow an account, ActivityPub checks for a discoverable RSS feed. If one exists, it’s automatically added to your Reader timeline so new posts appear alongside everything else you already follow. Unfollowing works the same way—the feed disappears when you remove the account. And if you’d like to view the feed for an account you’ve followed, just hover over it in the list table and click **View Feed**.
Think of this as a **bridge**: a simple way to read the posts of accounts you follow today, while we continue building a full, first-class ActivityPub reading experience for tomorrow.
There are a couple of details to keep in mind. Removing a subscription directly in the Reader won’t update your site’s Following list, and interactions are limited to what RSS allows, which means sharing and reposting rather than the full range of ActivityPub features.
Running a self-hosted site without Jetpack? You can still [enable the Following UI manually](https://activitypub.blog/2025/07/09/7-0-0-i-will-follow-you/ )—it just won’t connect with the Reader.##
Quote Post ControlsWe’ve also added support for Mastodon’s **quote post** feature—and given you an easy way to control how others can quote your content.
When writing in the Block Editor, you’ll now see a sidebar setting that lets you decide whether everyone can quote your post, only your followers can, or if quoting is reserved for you alone. Once published, Mastodon and other compatible platforms will honor your choice automatically. No extra setup needed—just write, choose, and publish with confidence.##
Full Changelog###
Added<li>Added a setting to control who can quote your posts.</li><li>Added support for QuoteRequest activities (FEP-044f), enabling proper handling, validation, and policy-based acceptance or rejection of quote requests.</li><li>Add upgrade routine to enable ActivityPub feeds in WordPress.com Reader</li><li>Add Yoast SEO integration for author archives site health check.</li><li>Improved interaction policies with clearer defaults and better Mastodon compatibility.</li><li>New site health check warns if active Captcha plugins may block ActivityPub comments.</li><li>Sync following meta to enable RSS feed subscriptions for ActivityPub actors in WordPress.com Reader</li><li>You can now follow people and see their updates right in the WordPress.com Reader when using Jetpack or WordPress.com.</li>###
Changed<li>Added support for fetching actors by account identifiers and improved reliability of actor retrieval.</li><li>Clarify error messages in account modal to specify full profile URL format.</li><li>Improved checks to better identify public Activities.</li><li>Improved compatibility by making the ‘implements’ field always use multiple entries.</li><li>Improved recipient handling for clarity and improved visibility handling of activities.</li><li>Remote reply blocks now sync account info across all blocks on the same page</li><li>Standardized notification handling with new hooks for better extensibility and consistency.</li><li>Updated sync allowlist to add support for Jetpack notifications of likes and reposts.</li>###
Fixed<li>Fixed an issue where post metadata in the block editor was missing or failed to update.</li><li>Fix Flag activity object list processing to preserve URL arrays</li><li>Fix PHP warning in bulk edit scenario when post_author is missing from $_REQUEST</li><li>Posts now only fall back to the blog user when blog mode is enabled and no valid author exists, ensuring content negotiation only runs if an Actor is available.</li>##
Downloads<li>WordPress.org: <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/activitypub.7.5.0.zip" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">activitypub.7.5.0.zip</a></li><li>GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases/tag/7.5.0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tag/7.5.0</a></li>##
Thank you!Thanks to everyone who contributed code, tested, offered feedback, or lent support along the way. Update to 7.5.0 today and follow, share, and quote to your heart’s content!
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2025-09-15 12:03:16 UTC

Running a community in the Fediverse means balancing openness with safety. Every year, @npub1y2r…kvzk takes the pulse of administrators, moderators, and community managers with their **Annual Needs Assessment**. This survey helps identify what’s working, where support is needed, and which tools can make a difference for those keeping decentralized spaces safe.
**The 2025 survey is now open**
Take part in the [IFTAS Needs Assessment](https://about.iftas.org/moderator-needs-assessment/ ) (5–10 minutes).
[Take the survey now](https://about.iftas.org/moderator-needs-assessment/ )
(If you haven’t seen them before, you can also take a look at [last year’s report](https://about.iftas.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Fediverse-Trust-Safety-Needs-Assessment-Report-2024.pdf ))
Last year’s responses represented moderators of over **4.3 million accounts** across ActivityPub platforms. With WordPress now the **largest group of federating instances**, it’s especially important for our community of hosts, site admins, and moderators to be heard.##
Moderation in WordPress: From Site-Wide to Personal ControlsWe recently introduced a major update to the [ActivityPub plugin for WordPress](https://activitypub.blog/2025/08/28/7-3-0-ctrl-fed-delete/ ): **personalized and site-wide moderation tools**.<li>Site administrators can now set domain, keyword, and actor-level blocks that protect the entire site.</li><li>Individual users can fine-tune their own experience with personal blocks, managed directly from their profiles.</li><li>Content is checked against both global and personal rules—so moderation works at every level.</li>
These improvements directly address needs raised in previous IFTAS surveys, making moderation more discoverable, flexible, and effective for WordPress communities in the Fediverse.##
Your Input Matters[IFTAS](https://about.iftas.org/ ) uses the Needs Assessment to guide **tools, policies, and advocacy** that reflect the real-world challenges of moderators—especially those in under-resourced communities. The more representative the responses, the stronger the outcomes for everyone.
If you’re running a federating WordPress site, please consider:<li>Filling out the survey yourself.</li><li>Sharing it with other admins, moderators, and community organizers.</li><li>Reminding folks that it’s anonymous, quick, and impactful.</li>
[Take the 2025 Fediverse Needs Assessment](https://about.iftas.org/moderator-needs-assessment/ )
Together, we can keep building a safer, healthier Fediverse—one that reflects the needs of its communities.

2025-08-28 18:36:44 UTC

Ready for a smoother ride on the Fediverse? ActivityPub for WordPress 7.3.0 is here to make your experience friendlier and more flexible than ever. Whether you’re keeping out unwanted guests, bringing stray conversations home, or just tidying up your digital footprint, this release puts powerful new tools right at your fingertips. Let’s take a look at what’s new!##
**Personalized & Site-Wide Moderation**With this release, Moderation tools are easier to discover and manage, thanks to a revamped two-tiered system that empowers both site admins and individual users with greater control over their Fediverse experience.
Now, site administrators can set up site-wide blocks—covering domains, keywords, and even specific actors—right from the Settings screen or the new Blocked Actors table. These tools work together to keep out unwanted content and spammy actors for everyone on your site.
But we didn’t stop there! Every user can fine-tune their own experience. Head to your Profile to add personal domain and keyword blocks, or visit the new Blocked Actors submenu under Users to manage who can interact with you. Blocking someone is easier than ever—just paste their profile ID or webfinger, or use the handy new “Block” link right from your Followers list.<li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"><figure><img loading="lazy" width="3020" height="1984" alt="Followers table in WordPress with options to delete, block, or follow back ActivityPub followers." class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1739" data-id="1739" data-aspect-ratio="3020 / 1984" src="https://activitypub.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/followers-block-action.png"><figcaption class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption">Followers List With Block Option</figcaption></figure></li><li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"><figure><img loading="lazy" width="3020" height="1984" alt="Confirmation screen in WordPress for blocking an ActivityPub account, including options for site-wide blocking." class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1738" data-id="1738" data-aspect-ratio="3020 / 1984" src="https://activitypub.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/followers-block-confirmation.png"><figcaption class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption">Block Account Confirmation</figcaption></figure></li><li class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide"><figure><img loading="lazy" width="3020" height="1984" alt="Followers page in WordPress showing an empty list and a notification that an account has been blocked." class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1737" data-id="1737" data-aspect-ratio="3020 / 1984" src="https://activitypub.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/followers-block-success.png"><figcaption class="wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_caption gallery-caption">Followers After Blocking</figcaption></figure></li>
Whenever new ActivityPub content comes in, the plugin checks it against both global and personal blocks. Domains are matched not just to the sender, but also to the activity and object IDs. Keywords are scanned throughout the content, summaries, and even actor names. Site-wide rules always run first, followed by your personal settings—so you’re protected at every level. (For the blog actor, only site-wide blocks apply.)
For backwards compatibility, the classic comment disallow list is still supported, ensuring your existing moderation rules continue to work seamlessly.##
Saying Goodbye, the Right WaySometimes, a clean break is necessary. Whether you’re retiring a blog, removing a user, or handling old content, this release makes sure your presence in the Fediverse can be removed gracefully and consistently.
We’ve added a **self-destruct feature** for sites that want to step away entirely. With a single CLI command (wp activitypub self_destruct), WordPress will send out **Delete activities to all followers**. Built-in progress tracking and admin notifications let you know when the process has finished, so you can be sure your Fediverse footprint is fully cleared.
User deletion is now handled with the same care. When a user is removed from WordPress, a corresponding Delete activity is sent to their followers, ensuring that connections across the network are properly closed.##
Bring the Conversation to YouSometimes a reply you care about doesn’t make it all the way to your Inbox. Maybe it was posted on a remote server with finicky delivery, or slipped past the usual flow of ActivityPub. With this release, you don’t have to miss out.
Now you can search for any remote URL directly. If the **comment** is already in your database, you’ll be taken straight to the matching comment thread on your blog post. If not, the plugin will fetch and import the **remote reply to that post**, so you can fold scattered conversations back into your site seamlessly.
This means you’re no longer limited to what arrives automatically. If you’ve got a link to a discussion happening elsewhere in the Fediverse, you can pull it right into your own comment threads and keep the context intact.##
A Persistent Inbox for Better DebuggingFediverse interactions can get complex, and sometimes you need deeper insight into what’s really happening under the hood. That’s where the new **persistent inbox** comes in.
When enabled in **Advanced Settings**, the plugin now logs all incoming **Create** or **Update** activities. Instead of vanishing once processed, these entries are collected in a dedicated **Inbox Collection**—giving you a complete trail to reference when debugging.##
Full Changelog###
Added<li>Add actor blocking functionality with list table interface for managing blocked users and site-wide blocks.</li><li>Add code coverage reporting to GitHub Actions PHPUnit workflow with dedicated coverage job using Xdebug.</li><li>Add comprehensive blocking and moderation system for ActivityPub with user-specific and site-wide controls for actors, domains, and keywords.</li><li>Add comprehensive unit tests for Followers and Following table classes with proper ActivityPub icon object handling.</li><li>Added link and explanation for the existing Starter Kit importer on the help tab of the Following pages.</li><li>Adds a self-destruct feature to remove a blog from the Fediverse by sending Delete activities to followers.</li><li>Adds a User Interface to select accounts during Starter Kit import.</li><li>Adds support for importing Starter Kits from a link (URL).</li><li>Adds support for searching (remote) URLs similar to Mastodon, redirecting to existing replies or importing them if missing.</li><li>Adds support for sending Delete activities when a user is removed.</li><li>Adds support for Starter Kit collections in the ActivityPub API.</li><li>A global Inbox handler and persistence layer to log incoming Create and Update requests for debugging and verifying Activity handling.</li><li>Follower lists now include the option to block individual accounts.</li><li>Improved handling of deleted content with a new unified system for better tracking and compatibility.</li><li>Moderation now checks blocked keywords across all language variants of the content, summary and name fields.</li><li>When activated or deactivated network-wide, the plugin now refreshes rewrite rules across all sites.</li>###
Changed<li>Add default avatars for actors without icons in admin tables.</li><li>Added support for list of Actor IDs in Starter Kits.</li><li>Improve Following class documentation and optimize count methods for better performance.</li><li>Refactor actor blocking with unified API for better maintainability.</li>###
Fixed<li>Blocks relying on user selectors no longer error due to a race condition when fetching users.</li><li>Fix duplicate HTML IDs and missing form labels in modal blocks.</li><li>Fix malformed ActivityPub handles for users with email-based logins (e.g., from Site Kit Google authentication).</li><li>Fix PHP 8.4 deprecation warnings by preventing null values from being passed to WordPress core functions.</li><li>Improves handling of author URLs by converting them to a proper format.</li><li>Improves REST responses by skipping invalid actors in Followers and Following controllers.</li><li>More reliable Actor checks during the follow process.</li><li>Prevents Application users from being followed.</li><li>Proper implementation of FEP 844e.</li><li>Switches ActivityPub summaries to plain text for better compatibility.</li>##
Downloads<li>WordPress.org: <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/activitypub.7.3.0.zip">activitypub.7.3.0.zip</a></li><li>GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases/tag/7.3.0">tag/7.3.0</a></li>##
Thank you!Big thanks to everyone who contributed code, shared feedback, tested, or encouraged us along the way! Together, we’re making the fediverse more connected—one release at a time. ❤️
We’ve just rolled out version 7.3.0—try it out and let us know what you think!
https://activitypub.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/moderate-and-delete.png?w=1024

2025-07-30 21:28:00 UTC

We’ve rolled out an update that makes sharing content to the fediverse via ActivityPub even better—especially when it comes to images in comments. Now, when you include an HTML <img> tag that points to a file in your WordPress media library, that image is bundled as a proper attachment in the ActivityStreams payload. This means your followers on other platforms will see both your comment and its image, making conversations more vivid and engaging.
To protect your privacy and security, only images hosted in your own WordPress media library are supported. Images from external sources are intentionally skipped.##
Smoother Following, Better InteractionsIf you’ve turned on the “Following User Interface” feature in the advanced settings, you’ll see a few nice improvements. The followers list now shows whether you’re already following someone—and if not, you can follow them back with just one click.
We’ve also made it easier to follow people from other sites. When you click “Follow” on someone else’s blog, you’ll now be taken to your own site to complete it. It keeps things simple and familiar, even when you start following someone from another site.##
Better Support for Multibyte TextFinally, we’ve improved how multibyte characters (like those in Greek and other non-Latin scripts) are handled when generating post summaries for the fediverse. We’ve replaced byte-based string functions with multibyte-safe alternatives and reordered text processing steps to avoid errors.##
Full Changelog###
Added[](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/trunk/CHANGELOG.md#added )<li>Add image attachment support to federated comments – HTML images in comment content now include proper ActivityStreams attachment fields.</li><li>Link to the following internal dialog for remote interactions, if the feature is enabled.</li><li>The followers list now shows follow status and allows quick follow-back actions.</li><li>Trigger Actor updates on (un)setting a post as sticky.</li><li>You can now use <code>OrderedCollection</code>s as starter packs — just drop in the output from a Follower or Following endpoint.</li>###
Changed[](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/trunk/CHANGELOG.md#changed )<li>Ensure that tests run in production-like conditions, avoiding interference from local development tools.</li><li>Moved HTTP request signing to a filter instead of calling it directly.</li>###
Fixed[](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/trunk/CHANGELOG.md#fixed )<li>Allow non-administrator users to use Follow Me and Followers blocks.</li><li>Correct linking from followers to the following list.</li><li>Fix avatar rendering for followers with missing icon property.</li><li>Fix multibyte character corruption in post summaries, preventing Greek and other non-ASCII text from being garbled during text processing.</li><li>Informational Fediverse blocks are no longer rendered when posts get added to the Outbox.</li>##
Downloads<li>WordPress.org: <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/activitypub.7.2.0.zip">activitypub.7.2.0.zip</a></li><li>GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases/tag/7.2.0">tag/7.2.0</a></li>##
Thank you!Huge thanks to everyone who shared code, gave feedback, tested, or simply cheered us on! Together, we’re building a more connected fediverse, one release at a time. ❤️
We’ve just released version 7.2.0, give it a spin and let us know what you think!
https://activitypub.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/engine.png?w=1024
https://activitypub.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/follow-back-1.png?w=1024

2025-07-23 13:54:12 UTC

This release is mostly made up of behind-the-scenes improvements, but one update you’ll notice right away is the refreshed Followers table. It now looks and feels much more like the standard WordPress admin tables: you can customize it with screen options to hide columns or change how many followers are shown per page, and you can now delete individual followers using inline action links. We also polished the layout by increasing information density and improving the readability of date columns.
We’ve made migrations easier to kick off by automatically resolving account aliases and saving their ID form. That means you can now paste in WebFinger IDs, profile URLs, etc. and the plugin handles the rest, as long as it resolves to an ActivityPub profile.
This release also fixes a long-time annoyance: unfederated posts (like those published before the plugin was activated or imported later) will no longer be sent out to followers just because they were updated. For now, we use a simple cutoff for posts older than a month, which should cover the majority of those cases.##
Coming Soon: Following Others!Most of the work that went into this release is still invisible, hiding behind a feature flag in Advanced Settings (you can find it by opening Screen Options in the ActivityPub settings screen).
There’s really no functionality around it yet, beyond following accounts from other instances, as we have yet to start processing incoming posts and adding the ability to interact with them. But if you just can’t wait to show your appreciation for other accounts by following them, go wild!
Behind the same feature flag, we’ve also added initial beta support for Fediverse Starter Kits. This lets new users follow a set of recommended accounts from a predefined list, following [the format proposed](https://github.com/pixelfed/starter-kits/issues/1 ) by @npub1q3u…r5gz for Pixelfed. For now, only Actor objects are supporteded, but we’re hoping to expand that over time.##
Full Changelog###
Added<li>Added a first version of the Follow form, allowing users to follow other Actors by username or profile link.</li><li>Added initial support for Fediverse Starter Kits, allowing users to follow recommended accounts from a predefined list.</li><li>Ensure that all schedulers are registered during every plugin update.</li><li>Followers and Following list tables now support Columns and Pagination screen options.</li><li>The featured tags endpoint is now available again for all profiles, showing the most frequently used tags by each user.</li><li>The <code>following</code> endpoint now returns the actual list of users being followed.</li>###
Changed<li>Follower tables now look closer to what other tables in WordPress look like.</li><li>Improved Account-Aliases handling by internally normalizing input formats.</li><li>Minor performance improvement when querying posts of various types, by avoiding double queries.</li><li>Set older unfederated posts to local visibility by default.</li><li>Step counts for the Welcome checklist now only take into account steps that are added in the Welcome class.</li><li>Table actions are now faster by using the Custom Post Type ID instead of the remote user URI, thanks to the unified Actor Model.</li><li>The following tables now more closely match the appearance of other WordPress tables and can be filtered by status.</li>###
Fixed<li>Ensure correct visibility handling for <code>Undo</code> and <code>Follow</code> requests</li><li>Ensure that the Actor-ID is always a URL.</li><li>Fixed a bug in how follow requests were accepted to ensure they work correctly.</li><li>Fixed an issue where the number of followers shown didn’t always match the actual follower list.</li><li>Fixed a PHP error that prevented the Follower overview from loading.</li><li>Fixed missing avatar class so that CSS styles are correctly applied to ActivityPub avatars on the Dashboard.</li><li>Fixed potential errors when unrelated requests get caught in double-knocking callback.</li><li>Improved WebFinger fallback to better guess usernames from profile links.</li><li>Prevent WordPress from loading all admin notices twice on ActivityPub settings pages.</li><li>Removed follower dates to avoid confusion, as they may not have accurately reflected the actual follow time.</li><li>Stop purging Follow activities from the Outbox to allow proper Unfollow (Undo) handling.</li>##
Downloads<li>WordPress.org: <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/activitypub.7.1.0.zip">activitypub.7.1.0.zip</a></li><li>GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases/tag/7.1.0">tag/7.1.0</a></li>##
Thank you!Big thanks to everyone who contributed code, feedback, testing, or encouragement—this community helps make the fediverse more connected with every release. ❤️
Update to 7.1.0, try it out, and tell us what you think!
https://activitypub.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/wapuu-in-space-repair.png?w=1024

2025-07-09 15:39:43 UTC

Just when you thought things were settling down… boom 💥 — the ActivityPub plugin gets another big upgrade. Say hello to **version 7.0.0**, a release packed with new features, polish, and under-the-hood improvements to help your WordPress site federate smoother, smarter, and more securely than ever.
Let’s dive into what’s new.##
Following the FediverseWe’ve added the **initial building blocks for Following support** — both sending and managing follow requests for remote actors. It’s not in the UI just yet (we’re rolling it out carefully), but that’s not far away. A big step toward richer, two-way federation.
We’ll work with developers of third-party plugins — including those behind **[Friends](https://wordpress.org/plugins/friends/ )** and **[Event Bridge](https://wordpress.org/plugins/event-bridge-for-activitypub/ )** — to migrate their custom follow implementations to this new core feature. This collaboration helps ensure a consistent, reliable follow experience across the ecosystem.
**This foundational support for following is also the first step toward a full-featured reader experience right inside WordPress** — something we’re excited to keep building toward.##
Refined SignatureThis release brings **support for RFC-9421-style HTTP signatures**, both incoming and (optionally) outgoing. That’s a mouthful, but it basically means supporting the latest standard in how we verify and send activities — including a fallback to good old Draft Cavage when needed.
Check out the blog post to learn more: [HTTP Signature Upgrades Coming Soon](https://activitypub.blog/2025/07/03/http-signature-upgrades-coming-soon/ ) ##
Full Changelog###
Added<li>Added basic support for handling remote rejections of follow requests.</li><li>Added basic support for RFC-9421 style signatures for incoming activities.</li><li>Added initial Following support for Actors, hidden for now until plugins add support.</li><li>Added missing “Advanced Settings” details to Site Health debug information.</li><li>Added option to auto-approve reactions like likes and reposts.</li><li>Added support for namespaced attributes and the dcterms:subject field (FEP-b2b8), as a first step toward phasing out summary-based content warnings.</li><li>Added support for the WP Rest Cache plugin to help with caching REST API responses.</li><li>Documented support for FEP-844e.</li><li>Optional support for RFC-9421 style signatures for outgoing activities, including retry with Draft-Cavage-style signature.</li><li>Reactions block now supports customizing colors, borders, box-shadows, and typography.</li><li>Support for sending follow requests to remote actors is now in place, including outbox delivery and status updates—UI integration will follow later.</li>###
Changed<li>Comment feeds now show only comments by default, with a new <code>type</code> filter (e.g., <code>like</code>, <code>all</code>) to customize which reactions appear.</li><li>Consistent naming of Blog user in Block settings.</li><li>hs2019 signatures for incoming REST API requests now have their algorithm determined based on their public key.</li><li>Likes, comments, and reposts from the Fediverse now require either a name or <code>preferredUsername</code> to be set when the Discussion option <code>require_name_email</code> is set to true. It falls back to “Anonymous”, if not.</li><li>Management of public/private keys for Actors now lives in the Actors collection, in preparation for Signature improvements down the line.</li><li>Notification emails for new reactions received from the Fediverse now link to the moderation page instead of the edit page, preventing errors and making comment management smoother.</li><li>Plugins now have full control over which Settings tabs are shown in Settings > Activitypub.</li><li>Reworked follower structure to simplify handling and enable reuse for following mechanism.</li><li>Screen options in the Activitypub settings page are now filterable.</li><li>Setting the blog identifier to empty will no longer trigger an error message about it being the same as an existing user name.</li><li>Step completion tracking in the Welcome tab now even works when the number of steps gets reduced.</li><li>The image attachment setting is no longer saved to the database if it matches the default value.</li><li>The welcome page now links to the correct profile when Blog Only mode was selected in the profile mode step.</li><li>Unified retrieval of comment avatars and re-used core filters to give access to third-part plugins.</li>###
Fixed<li>Allow interaction redirect URLs that contain an ampersand.</li><li>Comments received from the Fediverse no longer show an Edit link in the comment list, despite not being editable.</li><li>Fixed an issue where links to remote likes and boosts could open raw JSON instead of a proper page.</li><li>Fixed a potential error when getting an Activitypub ID based on a user ID.</li><li>HTTP signatures using the hs2019 algorithm now get accepted without error.</li><li>Improved compatibility with older follower data.</li><li>Inbox requests that are missing an <code>algorithm</code> parameter in their signature no longer create a PHP warning.</li><li>Interaction attempts that pass a webfinger ID instead of a URL will work again.</li><li>Names containing HTML entities now get displayed correctly in the Reactions block’s list of users.</li><li>Prevent storage of empty or default post meta values.</li><li>The amount of avatars shown in the Reactions block no longer depends on the amount of likes, but is comment type agnostic.</li><li>The command-line interface extension, accidentally removed in a recent cleanup, has been restored.</li><li>The image attachment setting now correctly respects a value of 0, instead of falling back to the default.</li><li>The Welcome screen now loads with proper styling when shown as a fallback.</li><li>Using categories as hashtags has been removed to prevent conflicts with tags of the same name.</li><li>When verifying signatures on incoming requests, the digest header now gets checked as expected.</li>##
Downloads<li>WordPress.org: <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/activitypub.7.0.0.zip">https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/activitypub.7.0.0.zip</a></li><li>GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases/tag/7.0.0">https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases/tag/7.0.0</a></li>##
Thank you!Huge thanks to everyone who contributed code, feedback, tests, or moral support. This community makes the fediverse feel a little more federated with every release. ❤️
Update now, test things out, and let us know how 7.0.0 works for you!
https://activitypub.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/i-will-follow-you.png?w=1024

2025-06-24 12:52:19 UTC

[Alongside our upcoming plans](https://activitypub.blog/2025/06/11/our-2025-roadmap-building-the-future-of-wordpress-federation/ ), we’ve already shipped several important features in recent releases. Here are some highlights of what’s now available in the ActivityPub plugin.##
OnboardingWe’ve added an **onboarding flow** after plugin activation to help guide new users through key decisions — such as selecting the Actor Mode.
It’s also a great opportunity to explain Fediverse concepts for users who are new to them.
More details:
👉 [5.9.0 — Easier onboarding for your Fediverse experience](https://activitypub.blog/2025/05/14/5-9-0-easier-onboarding-for-your-fediverse-experience/ )##
MoveThe **Move Activity** is used by Mastodon to migrate accounts to different servers — and can also be used for **domain or username changes**.
In the WordPress ecosystem, one of the main motivations for implementing Move was to support **changing the domain of a WordPress blog** — a common scenario for WordPress site owners.
We’ve built a **solid foundation** in the plugin to both **send and receive Move Activities**. However, because Move is **not yet widely adopted** across the Fediverse, we’ve decided to **pause further work** on this feature until there is broader ecosystem support.
Account migration remains a crucial capability for a healthier, more portable social web. If you’re interested in the broader context and challenges around this, we recommend watching [Cory Doctorow’s keynote from the June FediForum](https://fediforum.org/2025-06/ ):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_Gs1t0qe78
We’ll revisit this as the standard matures and more servers implement consistent handling of Move.
More details:
👉 [GitHub — Move Milestone](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/milestone/5 )##
OutboxEarlier versions of the plugin supported only the federation of **custom post types**, sending all messages in one bulk.
That approach works up to about **1000 followers**, but does not support retries, logging, or error handling.
To support larger blogs or news sites — we needed a more robust system.
We now have mechanisms to:<li>Federate activities to more than 1000 followers.</li><li>Use a staggered delivery system that prioritizes servers.</li><li>Provide a stable and scalable architecture.</li><li>Support retries and error reporting.</li>
This improved Outbox system also makes it easier for **third-party plugin developers** to **federate their own content types** in a reliable and scalable way.
More details:
👉 [GitHub — Outbox Milestone](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/milestone/4 )##
ChangelogsThese are just the major milestones. If you’re interested in everything we ship, be sure to subscribe or follow the blog — we publish detailed [changelog posts](https://activitypub.blog/category/changelog/ ) with every new plugin release, listing all new features and improvements.
As always, we welcome your **feedback and ideas** — they help shape the future of the ActivityPub plugin and the growing WordPress Fediverse community! 🚀
https://activitypub.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/fediverse-wapuu-shipped.png?w=683
https://activitypub.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/screenshot-2025-06-23-at-16.14.08.png?w=927

2025-06-11 13:00:00 UTC

We’re excited to share this roadmap — there’s a lot happening with the ActivityPub plugin, and we can’t wait to show you what’s coming next.
We often refer to this roadmap in GitHub issues and discussions, but until now, we haven’t published a full roadmap post — nor a formal changelog. This post is a first step toward keeping the community more informed about what’s planned and what’s coming up next.
Our **goal for this year** is to **finalize the full ActivityPub experience** — so that WordPress can be used as a **first-class citizen of the Fediverse**. This means enabling not only publishing to the network, but also following, reading, interacting, and moderating — all in a seamless way that feels natural for WordPress users.
This roadmap is not set in stone — priorities may shift based on community feedback, WordPress updates, or changes in the wider Fediverse. But it should give you a good sense of where we’re going.##
Followers/FollowingThis is what we’re currently working on. [You can follow the progress on GitHub](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/milestone/7 ).
Right now, the plugin supports only **Followers**. It doesn’t yet offer a way for your site to follow others in the Fediverse. But with new initiatives like the **“Reader Experience,”** this will need to change.
To support true two-way relationships — both Followers and Following — we need a database model that can clearly represent both types of connections. The current system, which relies on GUIDs to track remote actors, wasn’t designed for this. At the moment, it can store a remote actor as a follower of your site, but it doesn’t easily support the ability for your site to follow them back.
Implementing Following cleanly will require rethinking how this data is stored and connected.##
ActorsThis ties into a broader challenge with how the plugin currently models **actors** — both local users on your site and remote users from other Fediverse servers.
Today, the plugin uses **virtual users** to represent these actors. This was a practical choice early on to get federation working without rewriting how WordPress manages users.
But as the plugin grows — especially with features like Following and the Reader Experience — this approach is creating friction. Virtual users don’t behave exactly like regular WordPress users, so each time we add new features, we end up writing special workarounds.
Over time, this adds complexity and makes the system harder to maintain. Moving toward a more unified model for actors — one that integrates more naturally with WordPress’s existing structures — will keep the plugin flexible and reliable.##
ModerationCurrently, the plugin relies on WordPress’s built-in “Disallowed Comment Keys” system to filter unwanted content at the inbox endpoint — before any ActivityPub request is processed. This mechanism allows you to block activities based on keywords or domains, using the same rules you’d apply to comments.
However, this approach is fairly blunt: it’s a simple keyword filter, not a nuanced moderation tool. This limitation will become more important as the plugin expands — for example, when adding support for image-based comments or richer media interactions.
Building a dedicated filtering mechanism is an important step toward giving site owners **fine-grained moderation tools** that are tailored to the unique challenges of federated content.
More details:
👉 [GitHub — Question: How does this plugin interact with moderation and trust & safety on the fediverse?](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/issues/418 )##
ReaderA full **Reader experience** is one of our long-term goals — it’s the final big feature needed to give WordPress sites a complete **ActivityPub/Fediverse experience**.
Today, the plugin lets others follow your site, but there’s no built-in way for you to **subscribe to and read content from others** — in other words, there’s no “timeline” yet inside WordPress.
We plan to start with a simple, flexible approach: focusing first on **storing remote posts** in a way that’s compatible with tools like the **WordPress.com Reader** or third-party plugins like **[Friends](https://wordpress.org/plugins/friends/ )** or the **[Event Bridge for ActivityPub](https://wordpress.org/plugins/event-bridge-for-activitypub/ )**.
Once this foundation is in place, we’ll iterate on direct support — making it possible for site owners and users to follow and read Fediverse posts right inside WordPress.##
Direct MessagesAs part of this evolution toward a full Reader experience, we’re also exploring support for **Direct Messages**.
This is a frequently requested feature and an important part of richer Fediverse interactions. We plan to start with an initial implementation that enables private messaging — and then build on it as we learn from real-world use.##
Fully delete profilesOne key principle of the **GDPR** is the “right to be forgotten.”
Currently, the plugin supports **remote deletions**, but does not trigger Delete Activities for local user actions.
The challenge is that WordPress operates differently from most federated social networks. Users might expect Delete Activities for certain actions that could have major consequences — for example, deactivating the plugin.
But deactivating a plugin is also a common troubleshooting step in WordPress.
To address this, we first need to define different use cases and guide users on how to trigger Delete Activities appropriately.
More details:
👉 [GitHub — User Delete Milestone](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/milestone/3 )##
Client-to-Server API (exploration)In addition to the way servers communicate with each other across the Fediverse, **ActivityPub also defines a “Client-to-Server” API**.
This API is mainly designed to allow **apps and clients** (such as mobile apps) to publish content to a Fediverse server.
In the future, this could open up interesting possibilities for WordPress — for example, allowing WordPress to act as a **bridge** or **proxy**, making it easier to bring in and federate content from other tools or platforms.
At this stage, we’re exploring and evaluating this based on community interest and potential use cases.##
Staying InformedWe’ll continue to keep you informed about the progress of this roadmap.
For each new release, we’ll publish posts highlighting the latest features and improvements. For larger projects — like the Reader experience or expanded moderation tools — we’ll also share **regular updates** so you can follow along as the work evolves.
As always, we welcome your **feedback and ideas** — they help shape the future of the ActivityPub plugin and the growing WordPress Fediverse community! 🚀
https://activitypub.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/wapuu.png?w=720

2025-06-06 14:08:49 UTC

Our latest release brings a lot of improvements — especially to our blocks!
The **Follow Me** and **Followers** blocks now have a fresh design, better interactivity, and broader support for ActivityPub-enabled users.
The **Reactions** block and “Reply on the Fediverse” feature also now take advantage of the latest Block Editor features and are built on the Interactivity API for a smoother experience.
We’ll follow up soon with a deeper dive into the new block features — stay tuned!###
Fediverse Followers<template data-wp-each="context.followers"></template><li data-wp-each-child="" class="follower-item"><a href="https://social.linux.pizza/@crse" title="@crse" data-wp-bind--href="context.item.url" class="follower-link" target="_blank" rel="external noreferrer noopener" data-wp-bind--title="context.item.handle"><imgdata-wp-bind--src="context.item.icon.url"data-wp-on--error="callbacks.setdefaultavatar"src="https: cdn.social.linux.pizza="" system="" accounts="" avatars="" 108="" 246="" 249="" 796="" 022="" original="" 80e3c8c2cbeec26a.png"alt="" class="follower-avatar" width="48" height="48"><div class="follower-info">Chris :freedo: :supertuxkart:@crse</div></imgdata-wp-bind--src="context.item.icon.url"data-wp-on--error="callbacks.setdefaultavatar"src="https:></a><a href="https://social.linux.pizza/@crse" title="@crse" data-wp-bind--href="context.item.url" class="follower-link" target="_blank" rel="external noreferrer noopener" data-wp-bind--title="context.item.handle"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24" class="external-link-icon" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" fill="currentColor"><path d="M18.2 17c0 .7-.6 1.2-1.2 1.2H7c-.7 0-1.2-.6-1.2-1.2V7c0-.7.6-1.2 1.2-1.2h3.2V4.2H7C5.5 4.2 4.2 5.5 4.2 7v10c0 1.5 1.2 2.8 2.8 2.8h10c1.5 0 2.8-1.2 2.8-2.8v-3.6h-1.5V17zM14.9 3v1.5h3.7l-6.4 6.4 1.1 1.1 6.4-6.4v3.7h1.5V3h-6.3z"></path></svg></a></li><li data-wp-each-child="" class="follower-item"><a href="https://mstdn.social/@mudaste" title="@mudaste" data-wp-bind--href="context.item.url" class="follower-link" target="_blank" rel="external noreferrer noopener" data-wp-bind--title="context.item.handle"><imgdata-wp-bind--src="context.item.icon.url"data-wp-on--error="callbacks.setdefaultavatar"src="https: media.mstdn.social="" accounts="" avatars="" 000="" 093="" 117="" original="" 3830e8a1f1ac6c25.png"alt="" class="follower-avatar" width="48" height="48"><div class="follower-info">cuNha@mudaste</div></imgdata-wp-bind--src="context.item.icon.url"data-wp-on--error="callbacks.setdefaultavatar"src="https:></a><a href="https://mstdn.social/@mudaste" title="@mudaste" data-wp-bind--href="context.item.url" class="follower-link" target="_blank" rel="external noreferrer noopener" data-wp-bind--title="context.item.handle"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24" class="external-link-icon" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" fill="currentColor"><path d="M18.2 17c0 .7-.6 1.2-1.2 1.2H7c-.7 0-1.2-.6-1.2-1.2V7c0-.7.6-1.2 1.2-1.2h3.2V4.2H7C5.5 4.2 4.2 5.5 4.2 7v10c0 1.5 1.2 2.8 2.8 2.8h10c1.5 0 2.8-1.2 2.8-2.8v-3.6h-1.5V17zM14.9 3v1.5h3.7l-6.4 6.4 1.1 1.1 6.4-6.4v3.7h1.5V3h-6.3z"></path></svg></a></li><li data-wp-each-child="" class="follower-item"><a href="https://mastodon.social/@box464" title="@box464" data-wp-bind--href="context.item.url" class="follower-link" target="_blank" rel="external noreferrer noopener" data-wp-bind--title="context.item.handle"><imgdata-wp-bind--src="context.item.icon.url"data-wp-on--error="callbacks.setdefaultavatar"src="https: files.mastodon.social="" accounts="" avatars="" 109="" 259="" 207="" 144="" 483="" 733="" original="" 47ad35da5e393b00.png"alt="" class="follower-avatar" width="48" height="48"><div class="follower-info">Jeff Sikes@box464</div></imgdata-wp-bind--src="context.item.icon.url"data-wp-on--error="callbacks.setdefaultavatar"src="https:></a><a href="https://mastodon.social/@box464" title="@box464" data-wp-bind--href="context.item.url" class="follower-link" target="_blank" rel="external noreferrer noopener" data-wp-bind--title="context.item.handle"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24" class="external-link-icon" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" fill="currentColor"><path d="M18.2 17c0 .7-.6 1.2-1.2 1.2H7c-.7 0-1.2-.6-1.2-1.2V7c0-.7.6-1.2 1.2-1.2h3.2V4.2H7C5.5 4.2 4.2 5.5 4.2 7v10c0 1.5 1.2 2.8 2.8 2.8h10c1.5 0 2.8-1.2 2.8-2.8v-3.6h-1.5V17zM14.9 3v1.5h3.7l-6.4 6.4 1.1 1.1 6.4-6.4v3.7h1.5V3h-6.3z"></path></svg></a></li>#
Follower navigationPreviousNext
Beyond blocks, publishing new blog posts now **reliably sends a Create activity** to the Fediverse, so your followers won’t miss a thing. We’ve also improved how **hashtags and @-mentions appear** when posts federate to Mastodon and other platforms.
Under the hood, we’ve cleaned up and modernized the codebase — and the plugin now requires **WordPress 6.5** to take full advantage of the latest WordPress features.
Meanwhile, we’re kicking off a major rework of the [**Followers/Following** system](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/milestone/7 ). Expect more enhancements to roll out over the next few weeks. Plus, we’ll be publishing a blog post with our roadmap plans in the coming days — exciting things ahead! 🚀##
Full Changelog###
Added[](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/867a146149154556832f362b5cd6b4f0ddc057ec/CHANGELOG.md#added )<li>Enhanced markup of the “follow me” block, for a better Webmention and IndieWeb support.</li><li>The actor of the replied-to post is now included in cc or to based on the post’s visibility.</li>###
Changed[](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/867a146149154556832f362b5cd6b4f0ddc057ec/CHANGELOG.md#changed )<li>“Reply on the Fediverse” now uses the Interactivity API for display on the frontend.</li><li>Bumped minimum required WordPress version to 6.5.</li><li>Default avatar and error handling for the reactions popover list.</li><li>Ensured that publishing a new blog post always sends a Create to the Fediverse.</li><li>Followers block has an updated design, new block variations, and uses the Interactivity API for display on the frontend.</li><li>Follow Me and Followers blocks can now list any user that is Activitypub-enabled, even if they have the Subscriber role.</li><li>Likes and Reposts for comments to a post are no longer attributed to the post itself.</li><li>New system to manage followers and followings more consistently using a unified actor type.</li><li>Re-enabled HTML support in excerpts and summaries to properly display hashtags and @-replies, now that Mastodon supports it.</li><li>Refactored to use CSS for effects instead of JavaScript, simplifying the code.</li><li>Refine the plugin’s handling and storage of remote actor data.</li><li>The Follow Me block now uses the latest Block Editor technology for display on the frontend.</li><li>The Reactions block now uses the latest Block Editor technology for display on the frontend.</li>###
Removed[](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/867a146149154556832f362b5cd6b4f0ddc057ec/CHANGELOG.md#removed )<li>Cleaned up the codebase and removed deprecated functions.</li>###
Fixed[](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/867a146149154556832f362b5cd6b4f0ddc057ec/CHANGELOG.md#fixed )<li>Added forward compatibility for Editor Controls, fixing deprecated warnings in the Editor.</li><li>Avoid type mismatch when updating <code>activitypub_content_warning</code> meta values.</li><li>Default number of attachments now works correctly in block editor.</li><li>Fixed a bug in Site Health that caused a PHP warning and missing details for the WebFinger check.</li><li>Fixes a bug in WordPress 6.5 where the plugin settings in the Editor would fail to render, due to a backwards compatibility break.</li><li>Improved automated setup process for the Surge caching plugin.</li><li>Improved excerpt handling by removing shortcodes from summaries.</li>##
Downloads<li>WordPress.org: <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/activitypub.6.0.0.zip">https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/activitypub.6.0.0.zip</a></li><li>GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases/tag/6.0.0">https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases/tag/6.0.0</a></li>
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2025-05-14 14:58:04 UTC

Getting started with ActivityPub on WordPress just got a lot easier. A new guided onboarding experience is now part of the plugin, designed to help you configure key settings and understand how your site connects to the Fediverse—from the moment you activate it.
Whether you’re new to ActivityPub or just setting things up again, the onboarding flow helps you make informed choices around visibility, content formatting, and profile setup. It’s built to give you confidence that your content is reaching the right audiences in the right way.##
Tailored for YouThe plugin now adapts its behavior based on the caching plugins you have installed. You’ll also find clearer guidance if you’re using Surge, and an option to fine-tune how your content is tailored for browsers versus Fediverse services.
We’ve moved profile-related settings out of the welcome page and into new dashboard widgets, so they’re easier to find and update. And to make the learning curve smoother, the Help tab now includes a section explaining how ActivityPub works on the users page.##
Media, Previews, and PerformanceBeyond onboarding, this release adds support for audio and video attachments in ActivityPub embeds and previews. Posts shared to the Fediverse can now include up to four images, and you can choose how many to include on a per-post basis. Editor previews have also been improved—they now show media even if the post hasn’t been published yet.
For performance, author profiles now return a smaller set of extra fields (up to 20) to avoid bloated responses, and invalid items in the Outbox are skipped gracefully instead of causing errors.##
Designed to Grow With YouThis update also brings better mobile support for settings pages, improved documentation, and more robust error handling for things like missing or misformatted Outbox requests. And for developers, several filters and hooks have been updated or deprecated to make future work smoother and more predictable.
If you’ve been curious about joining the Fediverse or connecting your blog in a more structured way, now’s a great time to try it. Just activate the plugin and let the onboarding guide you through the rest.
*Tried the new onboarding? Let us know how it worked for you and what you’d like to see improved.*##
Full Changelog###
Added[](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/trunk/CHANGELOG.md#added )<li>ActivityPub embeds now support audios, videos, and up to 4 images.</li><li>Added a check to make sure we only attempt to embed activity objects, when processing fallback embeds.</li><li>Add setting to enable or disable how content is tailored for browsers and Fediverse services.</li><li>Adjusted the plugin’s default behavior based on the caching plugins installed.</li><li>A guided onboarding flow after plugin activation to help users make key setup decisions and understand Fediverse concepts.</li><li>Author profiles will cap the amount of extra fields they return to 20, to avoid response size errors in clients.</li><li>Fediverse Preview in the Editor now also supports video and audio attachments.</li><li>Guidance for configuring Surge to support ActivityPub caching.</li><li>Help tab section explaining ActivityPub capabilities on the users page.</li><li>Profile sections have been moved from the Welcome page to new Dashboard widgets for easier access.</li><li>The ActivityPub blog news feed to WordPress dashboard.</li><li>The Outbox now skips invalid items instead of trying to process them for output and encountering an error.</li>###
Changed[](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/trunk/CHANGELOG.md#changed )<li>Batch processing jobs can now be scheduled with individual hooks.</li><li>Better error handling when other servers request Outbox items in the wrong format, and 404 pages now show correctly.</li><li>Fediverse Previews in the Block Editor now show media items, even if the post has not been published yet.</li><li>Hide interaction buttons in emails when the Classic Editor is used.</li><li>Improve compatibility with third-party caching plugins by sending a <code>Vary</code> header.</li><li>Much more comprehensive plugin documentation in the Help tab of ActivityPub Settings.</li><li>NodeInfo endpoint response now correctly formats <code>localPosts</code> values.</li><li>Reactions block heading now uses Core’s heading block with all its customization options.</li><li>Settings pages are now more mobile-friendly with more space and easier scrolling.</li><li>The number of images shared to the Fediverse can now be chosen on a per-post basis.</li><li>Updated default max attachment count to four, creating better-looking gallery grids for posts with 4 or more images.</li><li>Use a dedicated hook for the “Dismiss Welcome Page Welcome” link.</li><li>Use FEP-c180 schema for error responses.</li><li>Use <code>Audio</code> and <code>Video</code> type for Attachments, instead of the very generic <code>Document</code> type.</li>###
Deprecated[](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/trunk/CHANGELOG.md#deprecated )<li>Deprecated <code>rest_activitypub_outbox_query</code> filter in favor of <code>activitypub_rest_outbox_query</code>. Deprecated <code>activitypub_outbox_post</code> action in favor of <code>activitypub_rest_outbox_post</code>.</li>###
Fixed[](https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/blob/trunk/CHANGELOG.md#fixed )<li>Broken avatars in the Reactions and Follower block are now replaced with the default avatar.</li><li>Email notifications for interactions with Brid.gy actors no longer trigger PHP Warnings.</li><li>Improved support for users from more Fediverse platforms in email notifications.</li><li>Improved the handling of Shares and Boosts.</li><li>Issue preventing “Receive reblogs (boosts)” setting from being properly saved.</li><li>Mention emails will no longer be sent for reply Activities.</li><li>Prevent accidental follower removal by resetting errors properly.</li><li>Properly remove retries schedules, with the invalidation of an Outbox-Item.</li><li>The blog profile can no longer be queried when the blog actor option is disabled.</li>##
Downloads<li>WordPress.org: <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/activitypub.5.9.0.zip">https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/activitypub.5.9.0.zip</a></li><li>GitHub: <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases/tag/5.9.0">https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/releases/tag/5.9.0</a></li>
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