iOS 16.4 allows you to embed Mastodon links sent via iMessage.

Mastodon links appear inline in message threads on your iPhone as inline inserts that include details such as the text of the post and the name of the author.

• What’s happening? The Messages app in iOS 16.4 offers inline embeds for Mastodon messages that contain more detail than the standard URL previews.
• Why care? If someone sends you a Mastodon URL via iMessage, you’ll see details about the message without even opening the link.
• What to do? Update to iOS 16.4 at launch.

Rich Mastodon embeds in iOS 16.4 Messages app

Mastodon is a federated social media service that has seen a surge in usage by people leaving Twitter. And now Apple has seized the opportunity to make life easier for people who share links to Mastodon via iMessage.

The Messages app in iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, and macOS Ventura 13.3 now supports inline embeds for links to Mastodon posts. But instead of just adding visual previews to Mastodon URLs passed through messages, Apple provides additional rich information similar to iMessage tweet previews.

These details include the author’s name, the text of the message, and any major attachments in the Mastodon message, notes 9to5Mac. Even better, Mastodon link previews are built into your conversation threads. Compare this to iMessage previews of non-Mastodon URLs, which are missing the message body, author name, and other details.

Prior to iOS 16.4, sharing a link to Mastodon via iMessage did not display a native preview. Instead, the Messages app just showed you the text of the link, and you had to click on the link to open the URL in Safari to see what was behind the link.

When will iOS 16.4 be released?

Apple began another beta testing cycle on February 16, 2023, releasing iOS 16.4, iPadOS 16.4, macOS Ventura 13.3, watchOS 9.4, and tvOS 16.4 to developers.

Public betas are expected soon. Apple will spend a couple of weeks testing these updates before they are released to all users, probably around April.

When the updates are launched, you will install them using the standard software update mechanism, which will update your device to the latest OS version without overwriting any data or settings.