Account verification
A process or status defined by a platform. Badge criteria vary; a badge does not certify that posts are accurate.
The glossary · 30 definitions
The social media glossary.
You do not need to speak in acronyms to feel at home.
Start with four essential ideas
Understand feeds, privacy, reliability and the rules of a space.
Alternative text
A text description of an image, useful especially to screen-reader users. Describe what matters in context.
Bio
A short account introduction. It may explain an activity and provide a link, but does not prove the author’s identity.
Block
An action that generally prevents an account from contacting you or seeing certain interactions. Its exact effect varies by service and does not replace reporting abuse.
Community
People gathered around an interest or shared space, with their own habits and sometimes explicit rules.
Content creator
A person or organisation that regularly produces posts to inform, entertain, share expertise or develop an activity.
Digital footprint
The traces associated with online activity: posts, comments, accounts, metadata and copies retained by other people.
Disinformation
False or misleading information spread intentionally to deceive. An error shared without this intention is misinformation.
DM / direct message
A message sent directly to a person or group. “Private” describes its intended audience, not necessarily its encryption.
End-to-end encryption
Protection that lets intended recipients read messages without the service being able to read their content in transit. It does not prevent recipient screenshots.
Engagement
Interactions with content: comments, shares, reactions or saves. The meaning of a rate depends on its denominator and the platform.
Fediverse
An ecosystem of federated social services that can communicate, notably through ActivityPub. Mastodon is part of it.
Feed
A sequence of posts displayed to a user. It can be chronological, personalised or built from a chosen list.
Follower
An account that chooses to receive another account’s posts. Follower count does not measure real attention or the quality of a community.
Geolocation
Data indicating a precise or approximate position. It can come from a phone, photo, IP address or a place added voluntarily.
Hashtag
A word or phrase preceded by # to identify a topic. Its role in discovery depends on the platform.
Instance
A server of a federated service. On Mastodon, choosing an instance includes choosing an account host and community rules.
Misinformation
False or inaccurate information shared without an intention to deceive. Disinformation involves a deliberate attempt to mislead.
Moderation
Applying a space’s rules: handling reports, restricting content or intervening with accounts. It may combine human and automated work.
Multifactor authentication
Login verification using several factors, such as a password and a security key. It adds protection to account access.
Notification
An alert sent by an app to report an interaction or encourage a return. Setting priorities helps reduce interruptions.
Phishing
An attempt to obtain a password, code or sensitive data by imitating a trusted service or person. Check the address and open the service through your own route.
Private account
An account whose posts require audience approval. This limits the intended audience but cannot stop an approved recipient keeping or sharing a copy.
Reach
The number of distinct accounts shown content according to the service’s measurement. It does not necessarily equal complete views or reads.
Recommendation algorithm
A system that selects and orders content using signals such as your interactions. The resulting feed is a selection, not a complete view of the world.
Report
An action bringing an account or content to a moderation team’s attention. It does not guarantee automatic removal.
Sponsored content
A post whose creation or distribution is funded by a brand or organisation. Its commercial nature should be clearly identifiable.
Story
A publishing format that is often temporary. A limited display period does not guarantee every copy disappears.
UGC / user-generated content
Content created by service members rather than the platform itself: posts, reviews, photos, videos or comments.
Virality
Rapid content distribution through recommendations and repeated sharing. Going viral does not prove accuracy, usefulness or approval by everyone who sees it.
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Educational definitions written for this portal. Names and measurements may vary by service. About & methodology.