Friendica: Facebook Alternative
Official website friendi.ca
Our take
Its strength is breadth, talking to Mastodon, diaspora, and more from one account, which makes it a kind of universal fediverse client with Facebook-style features. That ambition is also the catch: it is heavier and more complex to run and use than single-purpose alternatives. A good fit for people who want one hub across multiple networks and will tolerate the complexity; too much if you just want a simple feed.
GitHub at a glance
friendica/friendica
Stars
1,675
+ 0 this week
Last commit
3d ago
healthy
License
AGPL-3.0
Latest release
2026.05-1
1mo ago
Stars, last 10d
Listed in
Friendica alternatives
Friendica license, in plain English
AGPL-3.0 Strong copyleft · network
Free to use, even commercially. Changes must be published under the same license, and running a modified version as a network service counts as distributing it.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Patent use
- Private use
Requires
- Disclose source
- Network use is distribution
- Same license
- State changes
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: The network clause is the point. Anyone who runs a modified version as a hosted service has to publish those changes, so the code handling your data stays inspectable. This is why privacy-first projects reach for AGPL.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.