# Explore vs Trending

**URL:** <https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/explore-vs-trending/283>\
**Category:** UX Feedback\
**Created:** [October 24, 2026, 7:08am UTC](https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/explore-vs-trending/283 "2026-10-24T07:08:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 3

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**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://community.joinmastodon.org/u/Ross)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 7:43pm UTC](https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/explore-vs-trending/283/3 "2026-10-24T19:43:04Z")

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Absolutely 100%. They don’t mean the same things, and “Trending” is much more accurate than “Explore”. “Trending” describes exactly what it is. Look at the dictionary definitions.

To collect feedback on this from other threads: (link previews removed and replaced with relevant quotes where appropriate)

> [@Where did "trending" go?](https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/where-did-trending-go/125):
>
> Am I just not seeing it? Or was it done away with? It used to be on the right where the big mass of empty space now is. I would click on “trending” daily. Please bring it back or tell me where it can be found now. Thanks!

> [@Some thoughts about the new webdesing](https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/some-thoughts-about-the-new-webdesing/272/2):
>
> I agree that the right hand side is wasted space. This is where I could also find the “trending” area, which is now in a rather obscure, confusing location and I’m not even sure I’m seeing the trending things and not just whatever is new now. I really miss “trending”. I miss seeing “notifications” spelled out and on the right. Now it’s this tiny little thing in a weird place. I find it way uglier. I don’t particularly like recent trends in UI design and this seems to go whole hog. It’s ma…

[https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/new-ui-feedback-missing-a-lot-of-things/237/3](https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/new-ui-feedback-missing-a-lot-of-things/237/3)

> [@New UI feedback - missing a lot of things?](https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/new-ui-feedback-missing-a-lot-of-things/237/3):
>
> “Explore”? Should IMHO be named Trending, because that name captures the crucial difference: Sorting by popularity rather than time, exclusively.

> [@About the UX Feedback category](https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/about-the-ux-feedback-category/17/2):
>
> Continuing the discussion from [About the UX Feedback category](https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/about-the-ux-feedback-category/17): I don’t understand these changes, I hate the font, heart instead of star, can’t find things like “trending”, layout… It feels like change for no reason. I have tried using and playing around but I am frustrated. I admit I have little patience right now, and won’t be able to use Mastodon in it’s new form itll after Midterm elections in U.S. (Nov. 3) This was where I came for sanity checks, and I am a bit resentful. Maybe I can try aga…

[https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/my-feedback-on-the-new-mastdon-social-desktop-ui/256](https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/my-feedback-on-the-new-mastdon-social-desktop-ui/256)

> [@My Feedback on the new Mastdon.social Desktop UI](https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/my-feedback-on-the-new-mastdon-social-desktop-ui/256/1):
>
> Also, the trending topics seem to be missing in this new design. I would request that you add this feature into the new UI.

[https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/more-feedback-now-that-im-on-5/165](https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/more-feedback-now-that-im-on-5/165)

> [@More feedback now that I'm on 5](https://community.joinmastodon.org/t/more-feedback-now-that-im-on-5/165/1):
>
> The search bar is replaced by “Explore”, something I’ve learnt to associate with “look at a bunch of suggested accounts and posts and stuff that I don’t care about in the slightest”, and requires me to click to open it before I can even begin to search. I’ve seen in another thread that this also replaces “Trending”, something else “Explore” doesn’t put me in mind of

Admittedly, many folks did not recognize that it was renamed and thought that Trending was removed entirely and something called “Explore” added, but this just further proves that they are not recognizable as similar things and that it should be changed back to “Trending”.

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