Hello.

Mastodon's cross-instance following is clunky. I propose a solution using the web+follow URL scheme, like mailto, to streamline following users on ActivityPub platforms. A user's home instance registers as a handler for web+follow. Clicking a web+follow link opens the home instance, redirecting to a /follow request on the target instance. This page uses a meta refresh tag to redirect to /resolve-app, which redirects back to web+follow: with the user's ID. This triggers the registered handler (if available), creating a seamless follow experience within the user's preferred app. If no handler is installed, the user remains on the target instance's follow page, preserving existing functionality.

I successfully tested sharing a photo directly from the camera app to another app. Check it out!