If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably looking for the same thing as many people curious about the tech-and-politics space: where to download Truth Social, which platforms it’s available on, and what sets it apart from other social networks. Truth Social (styled as TRUTH Social) is a social networking service run by Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), a U.S. media and technology company that is majority-owned by the current President of the United States, Donald Trump. The concept started with a very clear premise: to offer an alternative to platforms like Twitter and Facebook, especially after his accounts were blocked in 2021 following the Capitol attack.
In practice, it’s often described as a “Twitter clone” and sits on the same competitive board as Parler, Gab, and Mastodon. The difference here is that the “personal brand” factor carries a lot of weight, and you can feel it in everything from the product direction to the media noise that has followed the project since day one. Is this a social network competing on innovation, or a proprietary megaphone packaged as an app? The answer depends more on how it’s used than on its feature list.
To access the service, the most direct entry point is its official website: www.truthsocial.com
Where to download Truth Social and how to access it
Truth Social rolled out in fairly staggered phases. It first arrived as a test release on the Apple App Store in November 2021, and later saw its public launch on February 21, 2022, also on Apple’s store. At that point, it was said to be iPhone-only in the United States, although availability for Canadian IP addresses was mentioned, already hinting at a phased expansion strategy.
On Android, the story was different. The app wasn’t initially available on Google Play because, according to the information available, it didn’t meet Google policies related to content that includes physical threats or incitement to violence. Ultimately, it was approved for Google Play in October 2022 after agreeing to comply with those rules, including removing messages that incite violence.
If you want to use it in a browser, Truth Social also offers web access at www.truthsocial.com. There was a period when the site blocked visitors from certain nationalities, showing an “Access denied” message tied to a security service, with details such as the IP address and User-Agent; however, that block was later removed, enabling access from more regions (though that didn’t necessarily mean the app was equally available in app stores everywhere).
A practical note: the service requires registration and offers an interface in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, including “Spanish” availability.
What Truth Social is and how it works under the hood
Functionally, Truth Social clearly follows the Twitter pattern: short, fast posts, with its own terminology. Messages are called “Truths” and sharing is referred to as “Re-Truths”. It also includes a feed-style aggregator called “Truth Feed” and a notification system. The visual design and interaction model are similar enough that the learning curve is minimal if you’re coming from mainstream networks—which also says a lot about the priority: reduce friction and hook users through familiarity.
The most interesting part, if you’re into product “archaeology,” is the technology stack. Truth Social uses Mastodon source code as its backend, which matters because Mastodon is typically used to connect multiple servers within the so-called Fediverse. In Truth Social’s case, it’s described as a Mastodon-based version where certain features were removed, such as polls or the ability to set post visibility.
This matters for a very specific reason: Mastodon is licensed under the AGPLv3, which requires derived code to be made available. According to the reported information, Truth Social was initially seen as positioning itself as proprietary software, even though it was effectively a Mastodon fork and didn’t credit the original code at first; later, its website stated that it uses open-source code from the decentralized social network. Put differently: behind the branding, there’s a foundation well-known in the open-source world, with everything that implies in terms of expectations, obligations, and debates (yes, the kind of debates that tend to flare up on GitHub before you even have time to make coffee).
Context, rules, and the project’s current status
Truth Social can’t be understood without the political and business context around it. The announcement of a new platform came after Trump was blocked on Facebook and Twitter in 2021, and the project was structured through Trump Media & Technology Group, with a financial deal tied to Digital World Acquisition Corporation (DWAC), a SPAC intended to fund the parent company and take it public. After the announcement, DWAC’s shares surged, and trading halts for volatility were reported, in behavior some compared to GameStop’s short squeeze earlier that same year. It’s not the “gadget” part of the story, but it explains the level of expectations (and noise) that has followed the service.
Later on, financial and regulatory difficulties were reported. In October 2023, DWAC said it was returning $1 billion raised for TMTG to investors; in November 2023, a DWAC financial disclosure stated that Truth Social had accumulated losses of at least $31.5 million since its creation. In March 2024, DWAC shareholders voted in favor of merging with TMTG, and the combined company began trading on NASDAQ under the symbol DJT. Then, in May 2024, the Q1 2024 regulatory filing reported losses of $327.6 million (largely attributed to the public listing) and $770,000 in revenue.
As for internal rules, its terms of service drew attention for two reasons: on one hand, they stated the company would not be legally responsible for content or opinions posted by users; on the other, they included a ban on “disparaging” or “harming” the site, reserving the right to suspend accounts and pursue legal action. Several outlets commented on these kinds of clauses because they contrast with the “public square” narrative often associated with alternative networks.
In short, for anyone looking to download Truth Social and understand what they’re installing, the key takeaway is this: it’s an active social network, with apps on iPhone and Android (on Google Play since October 2022), accessible via www.truthsocial.com, with mechanics very similar to Twitter, and built on a technical foundation tied to Mastodon—while its corporate journey has been shaped by financial moves and results that have generated headlines as much as the platform itself.
