Nostr notes by ActivityPub for WordPress

This post is about work happening on ...

2026-05-05T06:44:35Z

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 (Jeremy Herve (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><strong>Connect</strong> a Bluesky account through the Reader’s connections panel, with a Verify step that confirms the handshake works on both sides.</li><li><strong>Read</strong> your Bluesky home timeline as a tab in the Reader, with native rendering for facets, embeds, and quote posts.</li><li><strong>Follow links inward</strong>, opening a thread in the Reader, viewing an author’s profile, browsing their posts / replies / media filter tabs, following a hashtag.</li><li><strong>Follow and unfollow</strong> Bluesky accounts directly from the profile pages.</li><li><strong>Like</strong> posts, <strong>repost</strong> posts, and <strong>reply</strong> 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><strong>Quote-posting and delete-your-own-post</strong> for both Bluesky and Mastodon, the last pieces of the interaction set.</li><li><strong>A shared composer</strong> that handles replies, quote-posts, and standalone posts across networks. Already in progress on the Bluesky side; Mastodon plugs in next.</li><li><strong>Disconnect</strong>, a clean way to remove a Mastodon or Bluesky connection from the Reader.</li><li><strong>Blog-level ActivityPub</strong>, 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><strong>Tightening the shared pattern</strong> so adding the next network (Threads, Pixelfed, whatever comes after) is incremental work.</li><li><strong>Wrap-up</strong>, 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.

One of the best things about the Fediverse is that conversations ...

2026-04-02T12:59:25Z

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 #photography (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><strong>Inbox:</strong> <code>https://tags.pub/user/_____relay_____/inbox</code></li><li><strong>Shared Inbox:</strong> <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>#wordpress (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><strong>Opt out anytime</strong> by adding <code>#NoTagsPub</code> or <code>#NoBots</code> to your bio, your posts won’t be boosted.</li><li><strong>Block the domain</strong> entirely if you prefer not to interact with the service at all.</li><li><strong>No content storage</strong>, tags.pub doesn’t archive your posts, images, or media. It only maintains boost records.</li><li><strong>Respects blocks</strong>, 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.

Every major version is a milestone, and 8.0.0 is no exception. ...

2026-03-05T15:45:56Z

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><strong>Author Profile with Follow</strong>, a compact profile card.</li><li><strong>Fediverse Follow Page</strong>, a full-page follow experience.</li><li><strong>Author Header with Follow</strong>, great for author archive headers.</li><li><strong>Fediverse Sidebar</strong>, 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"><strong>FediBlog Tag</strong></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"><strong>Locale from Tags</strong></a>, derives post locale from taxonomy tags.</li><li><a href="https://github.com/Automattic/wordpress-activitypub/tree/trunk/snippets/bot-account"><strong>Bot Account</strong></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"><strong>Blockless ActivityPub</strong></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"><strong>Photon CDN</strong></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 Brandon Kraft ❤️‍🔥🧡 (npub1zk3…yjc3), Jeremy Herve (npub1cyc…9psj), and frank goossens 🇧🇪🇪🇺 (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?

Every now and then, it’s time to tidy things up. Version ...

2026-02-05T14:04:11Z

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 🥰

In June, we published our **[2025 roadmap: Building the Future of ...

2026-01-12T09:03:38Z

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.

As the year winds down, we’ve wrapped up a release that brings ...

2025-12-17T17:06:56Z

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!**

We’re back with a fresh release, and this one makes following ...

2025-10-01T13:38:56Z

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!

Running a community in the Fediverse means balancing openness ...

2025-09-15T12:03:16Z

Running a community in the Fediverse means balancing openness with safety. Every year, IFTAS (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><strong>Site administrators</strong> can now set domain, keyword, and actor-level blocks that protect the entire site.</li><li><strong>Individual users</strong> 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.

Ready for a smoother ride on the Fediverse? ActivityPub for ...

2025-08-28T18:36:44Z

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!

We’ve rolled out an update that makes sharing content to the ...

2025-07-30T21:28:00Z

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!

This release is mostly made up of behind-the-scenes improvements, ...

2025-07-23T13:54:12Z

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 dansup (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!

Just when you thought things were settling down… boom 💥 — ...

2025-07-09T15:39:43Z

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!

[Alongside our upcoming ...

2025-06-24T12:52:19Z

[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 <strong>more than 1000 followers</strong>.</li><li>Use a <strong>staggered delivery system</strong> that prioritizes servers.</li><li>Provide a <strong>stable and scalable</strong> architecture.</li><li>Support <strong>retries and error reporting</strong>.</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! 🚀

We’re excited to share this roadmap — there’s a lot ...

2025-06-11T13:00:00Z

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! 🚀

Our latest release brings a lot of improvements — especially to ...

2025-06-06T14:08:49Z

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><p></p><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"><span class="follower-name" data-wp-text="context.item.name">Chris :freedo: :supertuxkart:</span><span class="follower-username" data-wp-text="context.item.handle">@crse</span></div></imgdata-wp-bind--src="context.item.icon.url"data-wp-on--error="callbacks.setdefaultavatar"src="https:></a><p><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></p></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"><span class="follower-name" data-wp-text="context.item.name">cuNha</span><span class="follower-username" data-wp-text="context.item.handle">@mudaste</span></div></imgdata-wp-bind--src="context.item.icon.url"data-wp-on--error="callbacks.setdefaultavatar"src="https:></a><p><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></p></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"><span class="follower-name" data-wp-text="context.item.name">Jeff Sikes</span><span class="follower-username" data-wp-text="context.item.handle">@box464</span></div></imgdata-wp-bind--src="context.item.icon.url"data-wp-on--error="callbacks.setdefaultavatar"src="https:></a><p><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></p></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>;

Getting started with ActivityPub on WordPress just got a lot ...

2025-05-14T14:58:04Z

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>;