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SPECIFICTION
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Minds

minds.com

From $8/mo Free plan Open source WebWindowsmacOSLinuxiOSAndroid
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Spec score 9.3 #6 of 126 in Community Platforms

What it is

Minds is an open-source social networking platform available on the web, Android and iOS. Its features include a newsfeed, search, groups, chat, blogs, video, photos, tips, memberships, paid replies, notifications and monetization tools. Users may sign up anonymously, and Minds says observational analytics are not shared with outside companies for tracking. Free includes groups, encrypted chat, ActivityPub federation and YouTube sync, with 20-minute video uploads and 30-day storage. Plus and Pro list 60-minute video uploads. Minds+ adds channel verification, comment spotlight, premium creator content and publishing to its feed. Minds Networks offers branded community plans for teams, communities and businesses, with stated audiences from 20–250+ users for Team through unlimited users for Business. Networks describes interoperability with ActivityPub, RSS, DNS, Bitcoin, Ethereum and Stripe; it also supports embedding videos from YouTube, Livepeer and other third-party sources. Minds says monetization and NSFW features are limited on mobile, and NSFW content is unavailable in the iOS App Store and Google Play versions. The platform and mobile app use the AGPLv3 license.

Spec sheet

What it does
Minds is a decentralized social network and software platform for launching branded community apps.Read 15 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Product
Minds describes itself as a free, open-source social networking platform where users can earn digital currency for activity.Read 11 Oct 2026 · help.minds.com
Free plan
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · help.minds.com
API
The backend exposes CLI and REST controllers, with newer endpoints under API v2 and older endpoints under API v1.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developers.minds.com
Integrations
Minds states that it interoperates with ActivityPub, RSS, DNS, Bitcoin, Ethereum and Stripe, among other protocols and services.Read 15 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Mobile apps
bothRead 20 Sep 2026 · help.minds.com
Security
Minds' security page asks people who identify a vulnerability to contact its security email address.Read 11 Oct 2026 · help.minds.com
Privacy
Minds says signup can be anonymous and that a phone number is only required for rewards verification, where it is converted to a SHA-256 hash rather than stored directly.Read 15 Oct 2026 · help.minds.com
Support
Minds directs users to Chatwoot support or email support and provides a help center with product and troubleshooting articles.Read 15 Oct 2026 · help.minds.com
Founded
2011Read 28 Sep 2026 · minds.com
Apple app requirements
The iOS app requires iOS or iPadOS 15.1 or later and is rated 16+ with in-app purchases.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Authentication
Developer documentation describes session-cookie and OAuth authentication, with OAuth used by mobile clients.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developers.minds.com
Chat architecture
Minds Chat is a Matrix fork with calls and federation restricted, and users authenticate with their Minds.com credentials through OIDC.Read 15 Oct 2026 · help.minds.com
Community apps
Organizations can launch custom-domain web, Android and iOS community apps and keep control of code, data, contacts, content and communications.Read 15 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Company founded
Minds was founded in 2011 by Bill Ottman, according to its help center.Read 15 Oct 2026 · help.minds.com
Company headquarters and size
LinkedIn lists headquarters in Wilton, Connecticut and a company size of 11–50 employees.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Company legal name
The company is identified as Minds, Inc., a privately held Delaware corporation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · crunchbase.com
Core features
The service lists feeds, discovery, search, groups, chat, blogs, video, photos, tips, memberships, paid replies, notifications, Boost, affiliate tools, rewards, analytics and monetization.Read 15 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Custom domain
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · help.minds.com
Documentation depth
The developer site includes installation, architecture, backend, deployment, frontend, GraphQL, mobile, platform, infrastructure, plugin, decentralization and testing guides.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developers.minds.com
Funding
Minds says it raised more than $1 million from over 1,500 investors through a Regulation CF crowdfunding campaign.Read 15 Oct 2026 · help.minds.com
Licence
The Minds repositories state that the software is released under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3.Read 15 Oct 2026 · gitlab.com
Limit: low activity
Reviewers complain that Minds has a small or declining user base, making it difficult to find friends and sustained audience activity.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Limit: missing or buggy features
Reviewers cite bugs, slow updates, notification failures, poor polish and missing social functions such as polls, multi-image posts and comment sharing.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Limit: mobile restrictions
Apple reviewers mention limited feeds or difficulty accessing some content, while official documentation confirms monetization and NSFW restrictions on mobile.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Limit: moderation and abuse
Trustpilot reviewers report harassment, ideological echo chambers, bullying and dissatisfaction with account bans or abuse handling.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Minds+ creator tools
Minds+ includes channel verification, a spotlight for comments, access to premium creator content, and the ability to publish to the Minds+ feed.Read 11 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Minds+ reach
Plus subscribers receive access to the Minds+ feed and up to $7 in monthly Boost credits.Read 15 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Minds+ verification
Minds+ includes channel verification, premium badges, comment spotlighting and access to subscriber-only content.Read 15 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Mobile limits
Minds says monetization and NSFW features are limited on mobile, and its mobile download page says NSFW content is unavailable in the iOS App Store and Google Play.Read 11 Oct 2026 · help.minds.com
Mobile support
Minds officially supports the latest three Android and iOS operating-system versions, while monetization and NSFW functions are limited on mobile.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developers.minds.com
Moderation tools
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · help.minds.com
Monetization
Plans include affiliate and Boost partner programs, token rewards, cash and crypto payments, memberships, tips and Supermind features.Read 15 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Networks audience
Minds Networks positions Team for 20–250+ users, Community for 250–5,000+ users, and Business for unlimited users.Read 11 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Networks integrations
Minds Networks describes interoperability with ActivityPub, RSS, DNS, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Stripe.Read 11 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Open source
Minds says its platform and mobile app are licensed under AGPLv3.Read 11 Oct 2026 · help.minds.com
Praise: creator reach and rewards
Reviewers praise Minds as a place where small creators can gain visibility and use crypto rewards or Boost to promote posts.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Praise: free expression
Trustpilot and Apple reviewers repeatedly praise Minds for allowing speech and artwork they believe mainstream platforms would censor.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Private spaces
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · help.minds.com
Rating on Apple App Store
4.4 out of 5 from 1.7K ratingsRead 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Rating on G2
No rating; 0 reviews, and G2 says there are not enough reviews to provide buying insight.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Rating on Trustpilot
3.0 out of 5 from 59 reviewsRead 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
SDKs and code
The public repositories cover Engine backend APIs, the Angular web client, WebSocket services and React Native mobile apps.Read 15 Oct 2026 · github.com
Security practices
Internal security guidance requires strong passwords and two-factor authentication for Minds accounts, email and SSO, and uses Bitwarden for shared credentials.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developers.minds.com
Self-hosting
Deployment documentation provides Docker images and Kubernetes Helm deployment instructions for running Minds stacks.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developers.minds.com
Social features
The Minds site lists newsfeed, explore, search, groups, chat, blogs, video, photos, tips, memberships, paid replies, notifications, Boost, affiliate, rewards, analytics, and monetization.Read 11 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Status page
The status page lists core services, API, web, Boost, feeds, notifications, video, federation and Networks as operational when opened.Read 15 Oct 2026 · status.minds.com
Supported browsers
Officially supported browsers include current Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge and Brave, plus Chromium or WebKit-based browsers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developers.minds.com
System requirements
Local deployment documentation says Cassandra needs at least 4 GB of memory and Docker may need increased CPU and memory allocations.Read 15 Oct 2026 · developers.minds.com
Video limits
The comparison page lists 20-minute uploads and 30-day storage on Free, versus 60-minute uploads and included storage on Plus and Pro.Read 15 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Video upload
The Minds+ page says subscribers can upload 1080p videos up to 95 minutes, while its plan comparison lists 60-minute video upload limits for Plus and Pro.Read 11 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Who it serves
Minds describes Minds+ as an upgrade designed for creators and Minds Networks as a way for creators and community leads to run a branded community app.Read 11 Oct 2026 · minds.com

Plans and prices

Free Free text/image/audio/video posts · blogs · 20-minute video uploads · 30-day video storage · groups · encrypted chat · ActivityPub federation · YouTube sync · Boost · affiliate and token rewards Read 15 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Plus $8 a month Starting at $8 / month 60-minute videos · unlimited video storage · exclusive Minds+ content · hide boosted content · audio uploads · Boost credits · verification · premium badges · comments spotlight · paid Supermind challenges · token withdrawals Read 15 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Pro $58 a month Starting at $58 / month Plus features · post from own domain · team-tier Minds Network · cash payouts · Minds+ paywall content · custom memberships Read 15 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Team $50 a month Starting at $50 / month 30 video upload minutes · 8,000 video viewing minutes · 8,000 interaction events · best for 20–250+ users Read 11 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Community $500 a month Starting at $500 / month 500 video upload minutes · 120,000 video viewing minutes · 120,000 interaction events · best for 250–5,000+ users Read 11 Oct 2026 · minds.com
Business $1,000 a month Starting at $1,000 / month 1,250 video upload minutes · 300,000 video viewing minutes · 300,000 interaction events · best for unlimited users Read 11 Oct 2026 · minds.com

Every Minds plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Available on web, Android and iOS
  • Free plan includes encrypted chat
  • Supports ActivityPub federation and YouTube sync
  • Platform and app use AGPLv3

Limits

  • Monetization features are limited on mobile
  • NSFW content is unavailable in the mobile stores
  • Plus costs $8 a month
  • Networks plans start at $50 a month

Who it suits

Minds suits people looking for a social network with groups, chat, media and monetization features, including creators considering Minds+. Minds Networks is positioned for creators and community leads running branded community apps.

Verdict

Minds combines social features with creator subscriptions and branded community options. Check the plan-specific upload limits and mobile restrictions if video or monetization is central to your use.

Where Specifiction places it

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