Fae Social: A Custom ActivityPub Social Network for Queer Community
A full-scale, custom-built ActivityPub social network for queer community; with a federated feed, group and voice chat, end-to-end encrypted private messaging, and a 2D spatial-voice world to explore.
Real Connection, Owned by the Community
Fae Social is a queer social network built on open foundations. It runs on ActivityPub, so it's part of the fediverse; members can follow and connect with accounts and content on Mastodon and the wider open social web, rather than being locked into a walled garden. It's the same intention behind everything Kindred Faeries make: connection on the community's own terms, owned by the people rather than an algorithm.
Drake Design Studio designed and built the platform end to end. Far more than a feed, it brings together posting and sharing, group chat, group voice chat, end-to-end encrypted private messaging, and a 2D open-world spatial-voice space where you can wander a map and talk to people as you would at a gathering.
Services Delivered
Federation & Fediverse
- ActivityPub Protocol
- Mastodon Interoperability
- Cross-Network Following
- Open Social Web, No Lock-In
- Community-Owned Infrastructure
Messaging & Chat
- Group Chat
- Group Voice Chat
- Private Chat with E2EE
- Real-Time Presence
- Safe, Consent-Led Spaces
Spatial Voice World
- 2D Open-World Map
- Sections & Spaces to Explore
- Proximity-Based Voice
- Wander-and-Talk Interaction
- Gathering-Like Presence Online
Social Platform & Build
- Federated Social Feed
- Posting, Sharing & Stories
- Following & Discovery
- Brand & Interface Design
- Full-Stack Development
The Challenge
Gatherings are wonderful, and they end. The week after is often when the loneliness creeps back in. Mainstream social platforms aren't built to hold that kind of tender, ongoing queer connection; they're built to harvest attention, and they keep their users locked inside.
The brief was ambitious: build a social network that keeps faeries connected between gatherings without surrendering them to an algorithm or a single company. It needed real-time voice and text, genuine privacy, and a way to recreate the feeling of moving around a shared space together; all while remaining open and interoperable rather than another silo.
Our Approach
We built Fae Social on ActivityPub from the start, so it federates with Mastodon and the wider fediverse; nobody is trapped, and the community owns its own corner of the open social web. On top of that foundation sit a social feed, group chat, group voice chat, and private messaging secured with end-to-end encryption.
The standout is the 2D open-world spatial-voice space: a map with distinct sections to explore, where voice follows proximity so you can drift between conversations exactly as you would wandering a gathering. The whole thing is wrapped in a warm, queer-led brand and interface, designed so the technology disappears and the connection comes forward.
The Outcome
Connection Between Gatherings
Fae Social keeps the circle alive when everyone goes home; a place to check in, stay close, and carry the warmth of a gathering through the weeks that follow.
Open, Not Walled In
Because it speaks ActivityPub, members reach the whole fediverse and follow friends on Mastodon, while the community keeps ownership of its own space; the opposite of a corporate silo.
Presence You Can Feel
The 2D spatial-voice world turns flat online chat into something closer to being together; you wander, you bump into people, you fall into conversation, just like at the fire.
Privacy by Design
End-to-end encrypted private messaging and consent-led, community-owned infrastructure mean members can be open with one another without being mined or surveilled.
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