Keep in touch with people you know
Facebook for groups and events, WhatsApp for everyday contact, and Signal for private encrypted conversations.
See messaging appsYour compass for the social world
Explore social networks.
Find your place.
Explore social networks, understand how they work and build better habits. A world of connections, on your terms.
48 networks to explore 48 guides for better sharing
Connections that matter A world to exploreChoose without the guesswork
Which social network fits your goal?
Start with what you actually want to do. These are useful starting points, not a universal ranking.
Share photos and ideas
Instagram for visual stories, Pinterest for organising inspiration, and Snapchat for spontaneous exchanges.
Explore visual networksCreate or watch video
YouTube for lasting content, TikTok for short formats, and Twitch for live broadcasts and interaction.
Compare video formatsJoin a community
Discord structures ongoing groups, Reddit hosts topic-based discussions, and Facebook supports local groups.
Find a communityBuild a professional network
LinkedIn brings together profiles, organisations, posts and opportunities around professional life.
Explore LinkedInExplore more open networks
Bluesky offers custom feeds; Mastodon connects independently operated servers with their own rules.
Understand open networksAlways check age requirements, privacy options, moderation and data-export tools before creating an account.
The social network directory
A network for every interest.
For creating, learning, connecting or growing your projects.
Photo & inspiration
The home of visual expression.
Video & live
YouTube
Learn, create and see more.
Professional
Connections that move you forward.
Video & liveTikTok
Ideas brought to life through video.
CommunitiesDiscord
Where communities spend time together.
Open networks
Bluesky
Conversation with more choice.
Less noise, more understanding
Connected, with better habits.
Practical advice for a calmer, more useful experience.
Your privacy deserves a few settings
Separate three questions: who can access your account, who can see your content and what data you share.
Read the guide
There is a person behind every profile
Good conversation starts with context, respect and room for disagreement.
Read the guide
What we believe
Share thoughtfully.
Connect meaningfully.
Networks are tools. How we use them makes the difference. Let’s make our conversations more respectful, more informed and more human.
01
Respect people
A disagreement can remain a conversation.
02
Check before sharing
A source is worth more than a thousand shares.
03
Stay in control of your time
Connect by choice, not just out of habit.
A few helpful answers
Good questions.
Clear answers.
A first step towards understanding social networks.
Our editorial methodWhich social network should I start with?
Start with your purpose: keep in touch, join a community, create or develop your work. Try one or two platforms whose formats and rules suit you. Our directory groups networks by use.
Does a private account protect everything?
No. It limits your audience under the service’s rules, but a recipient can keep or share a copy. Also check tags, location, messages and connected apps.
Are messaging apps social networks?
Uses overlap: groups, communities and channels also enable sharing. We list messaging separately to distinguish private conversations from public posts.
Do platforms pay to appear here?
No. This edition contains no paid placement or affiliate links. The selection is editorial and non-exhaustive; listing order is not a quality ranking.
How can I report an error in a profile?
Send the page address, the relevant passage and, if possible, an official source through our Contact & corrections page. Platform names, features and terms can change.
Practical guides
Explore four new guides
Practical ways to manage your accounts and publishing.
Export your data and leave a social network
Before closing an account, save useful content, review connected access and choose between a break, deactivation and deletion.
Read the guide →
Take control of social media notifications
Reduce interruptions without missing important messages: sort alerts, choose quiet hours and review phone and app settings.
Read the guide →
Share photos with care for the people in them
Before posting a group photo, check people’s agreement, remove sensitive details and choose an appropriate audience.
Read the guide →
Plan a presence across social networks
Give each platform a clear role, build a realistic publishing calendar and measure what actually helps your audience.
Read the guide →Choose with context
Comparisons for a specific need
Messaging privacy
Compare five services by the space you use: personal message, group, channel or room.
A portfolio that suits your work
Photography, video, design or code: choose the evidence to show and prepare rights and credits.
Public, private or unlisted
A restricted audience and a shareable link offer different protections.
New reading paths
48 guides, eight topics, methods to use
Accessibility, projects, teams, privacy and verification: choose your need and find related methods, profiles and comparisons.
Getting started: choose a network for a specific task
Build an initial use rather than being present everywhere. A short path helps compare, try and keep what actually serves you.
Privacy: review spaces, audiences and traces
Account settings, post visibility, activity maps and recipients’ copies require separate checks.
Make posts accessible and understandable
Treat text, image, sound and languages as parts of the same message. Readers should understand and act in different viewing conditions.
Creative work, portfolios and distribution
Creative work should be findable, understandable and presented with appropriate rights. Portfolio and distribution can serve different roles.
Social networks for organisations and teams
Organise responsibilities, posts and replies before multiplying accounts. A small team needs a method that survives absences.
Monitoring, sources and verification before posting
Separate discovery, verification and citation. A feed or network helps find a lead; it does not turn the lead into evidence.
Measure results and explain data
Choose measures that inform decisions. Preserve definitions, counts and limits when presenting results.
Communities: welcome, discuss and moderate
Choose a space for expected conversations and the team able to support them. Prepare welcome, rules and appeal routes.
Access, backups and sources: three practical methods
- Back up your messages before changing phones — Distinguish message syncing, device transfers and backups. Prepare recovery keys and check your history before wiping your old phone.
- Understand passkeys and prepare account recovery — Learn how passkeys resist phishing, how their storage differs and what to check before replacing a device or changing account access.
- Check research shared on social media — Find the original study, distinguish preprints from published articles, check corrections and share a conclusion that respects the limits of the evidence.