<h2>Mastodon Now Sends Referer Headers! Hurrah!</h2><p><a href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/mastodon-now-sends-referer-headers-hurrah/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/masto</span><span class="invisible">don-now-sends-referer-headers-hurrah/</span></a></p><p>Back in 2022, I wrote this rather grumpy post on Mastodon, the federated social media platform.</p><blockquote class="social-embed" id="social-embed-109323917419768019" lang="en" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/SocialMediaPosting"><header class="social-embed-header" itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="https://mastodon.social/@Edent" class="social-embed-user" itemprop="url"><img decoding="async" class="social-embed-avatar" src="https://files.mastodon.social/accounts/avatars/000/007/112/original/37df032a5951b96c.jpg" alt="" itemprop="image"></p><div class="social-embed-user-names"><p class="social-embed-user-names-name" itemprop="name">@Edent@mastodon.social</p><p>Terence Eden</p></div><p></a><img decoding="async" class="social-embed-logo" alt="Mastodon" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' aria-label='Mastodon' role='img' viewBox='0 0 512 512' fill='%23fff'%3E%3Cpath d='m0 0H512V512H0'/%3E%3ClinearGradient id='a' y2='1'%3E%3Cstop offset='0' stop-color='%236364ff'/%3E%3Cstop offset='1' stop-color='%23563acc'/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3Cpath fill='url(%23a)' d='M317 381q-124 28-123-39 69 15 149 2 67-13 72-80 3-101-3-116-19-49-72-58-98-10-162 0-56 10-75 58-12 31-3 147 3 32 9 53 13 46 70 69 83 23 138-9'/%3E%3Cpath d='M360 293h-36v-93q-1-26-29-23-20 3-20 34v47h-36v-47q0-31-20-34-30-3-30 28v88h-36v-91q1-51 44-60 33-5 51 21l9 15 9-15q16-26 51-21 43 9 43 60'/%3E%3C/svg%3E" ></header><section class="social-embed-text" itemprop="articleBody"><p>Mastodon enforces a "noreferrer" on all external links.</p><p>I have mixed feelings about that.</p><p>As a blogger, I want to see *where* visitors are coming from. I also like to see (and sometimes join in) with the conversations they're having.</p><p>But, I get that people want privacy and don't want to "leak" where they're visiting from.</p><p>Is it such a bad thing to tell a website "I was referred from this specific server"?</p><div class="social-embed-media-grid"></div></section><hr class="social-embed-hr"><footer class="social-embed-footer"><a href="https://mastodon.social/@Edent/109323917419768019"><span aria-label="61 likes" class="social-embed-meta">❤️ 61</span><span aria-label="16 replies" class="social-embed-meta">💬 16</span><span aria-label="29 reposts" class="social-embed-meta">🔁 29</span><time datetime="2022-11-11T07:09:55.396Z" itemprop="datePublished">07:09 - Fri 11 November 2022</time></a></footer></blockquote><p>When you click on this link - <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news</a> - your browser says "Hey! BBC! Please can I have your <code>/news</code> page? BTW, I was referred here by <code>shkspr.mobi</code>. THANKS!" This is called the "<a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers/Referer">Referer</a>" and, yes, it is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_referer#Etymology">mispelt</a>.</p><p>One the one hand, sending the referer is good; it lets the linked-to server know who is linking to it. That allows them to see where traffic is coming from. On the other hand, this <em>could</em> be bad for much the same reason.</p><p>If you run a server <code>anarcho_terrorists.biz</code>, you probably don't want the FBI knowing that your members are sharing links to their pages. If you run a small personal server, you may not want anyone knowing that you personally linked to them. If you run a server for a marginalised community, you may not want a hate-site to know your members are linking to you.</p><p>But if you're a large-ish, general purpose, non-private site - like Mastodon.social - where's the harm in allowing referer headers?</p><p>Anyway, for historic reasons, Mastodon blocked the referer header. This, I believe, was sensible for smaller servers but a miss-step for larger servers. As I pointed out last week:</p><blockquote class="social-embed" id="social-embed-113611619218784737" lang="en" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/SocialMediaPosting"><header class="social-embed-header" itemprop="author" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person"><a href="https://mastodon.social/@Edent" class="social-embed-user" itemprop="url"><img decoding="async" class="social-embed-avatar" src="https://files.mastodon.social/accounts/avatars/000/007/112/original/37df032a5951b96c.jpg" alt="" itemprop="image"></p><div class="social-embed-user-names"><p class="social-embed-user-names-name" itemprop="name">@Edent@mastodon.social</p><p>Terence Eden</p></div><p></a><img decoding="async" class="social-embed-logo" alt="Mastodon" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' aria-label='Mastodon' role='img' viewBox='0 0 512 512' fill='%23fff'%3E%3Cpath d='m0 0H512V512H0'/%3E%3ClinearGradient id='a' y2='1'%3E%3Cstop offset='0' stop-color='%236364ff'/%3E%3Cstop offset='1' stop-color='%23563acc'/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3Cpath fill='url(%23a)' d='M317 381q-124 28-123-39 69 15 149 2 67-13 72-80 3-101-3-116-19-49-72-58-98-10-162 0-56 10-75 58-12 31-3 147 3 32 9 53 13 46 70 69 83 23 138-9'/%3E%3Cpath d='M360 293h-36v-93q-1-26-29-23-20 3-20 34v47h-36v-47q0-31-20-34-30-3-30 28v88h-36v-91q1-51 44-60 33-5 51 21l9 15 9-15q16-26 51-21 43 9 43 60'/%3E%3C/svg%3E" ></header><section class="social-embed-text" itemprop="articleBody"><p>Two years later.</p><p>Want to know one of the major reasons Mastodon didn't catch on with journalists and large website owners?</p><p>It is *invisible* in referrer statistics.</p><p>Here's my blog from the last month.</p><p>BlueSky now sends me more traffic than Bing.</p><p>How much traffic does Mastodon send? It is impossible to know due to the "noreferrer" header in all links.</p><p>(I'm not saying your privacy isn't important. But you can't grow a community if no-one knows you exist.)</p><div class="social-embed-media-grid"><a href="https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/611/599/519/383/213/original/f32f26cb4a0f015a.png" class="social-embed-media-link"><img decoding="async" class="social-embed-media" alt="1 google.com 10,957 12,1112 news.ycombinator.com 1,681 1,7633 duckduckgo.com 415 4584 css-tricks.com 353 3875 reddit.com 317 3736 yandex.ru 352 3567 google.co.uk 280 3058 bsky.app 252 2969 bing.com 254 282" src="data:image/webp;base64,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"></a></div></section><hr class="social-embed-hr"><footer class="social-embed-footer"><a href="https://mastodon.social/@Edent/113611619218784737"><span aria-label="305 likes" class="social-embed-meta">❤️ 305</span><span aria-label="57 replies" class="social-embed-meta">💬 57</span><span aria-label="248 reposts" class="social-embed-meta">🔁 248</span><time datetime="2024-12-07T12:48:52.705Z" itemprop="datePublished">12:48 - Sat 07 December 2024</time></a></footer></blockquote><p>I'm not the only one to make this point - it has been a popular complaint for some time.</p><p>A few days ago, <a href="https://github.com/mastodon/mastodon/pull/33214">Mastodon changed to allow this to be configurable</a>.</p><p>This is <em>excellent</em> news. Website owners will be able to (somewhat) accurately see how much traffic Mastodon sends them. That way they can determine if there is a suitably large audience to engage with on the Fediverse.</p><p>It is, of course, slightly more complicated than that!</p><ul><li>Instance owners can opt-in to allowing Referer headers (it is off by default).</li><li>The <a href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers/Referrer-Policy#directives">policy</a> means that only the domain name is sent; not the full page.</li><li>Mastodon is federated and there are thousands of sites. Even if they all opted-in, their statistics will be fragmented.</li><li>Apps can set their own Referer header - leading to more fragmentation.</li><li>Even if they do opt-in, users can set their browsers not to send Referer headers.</li></ul><p>Nevertheless, I'm delighted with this change. Hopefully it will allow the Fediverse to grow and attract more users.</p><p><a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/fediverse/">#fediverse</a> <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/http/">#http</a> <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://shkspr.mobi/blog/tag/mastodon/">#mastodon</a></p>