Bluesky
Decentralized social network where users control their feeds and algorithms to shape their public conversation experience
Last verified:
What is Bluesky?
Bluesky is a decentralized social media platform that operates on the open-source AT Protocol, giving users transparency into how the platform is built and control over their social media experience. Designed as a public conversation platform, Bluesky lets users engage in posts and discussions similar to X (Twitter), but with significantly more control over their feed, algorithms, and data. The platform was originally developed as a public benefit company to create social media as it should be, finding communities among millions of users while fostering creativity and fun.
Key features include algorithmic choice through custom feeds, where users can select from different algorithms to power their timeline (such as posts from mutuals, cat photos, sports, or gardening topics). Users can set up custom domain names as their usernames, create and share moderation lists, use Starter Packs to curate groups of people and feeds to follow, and enjoy robust content moderation tools including muting, blocking, and reporting. The platform also supports direct messages, hashtags, video uploads (up to 3 minutes), dark mode, and allows users to export their data for portability across servers.
Bluesky is ideal for privacy-conscious individuals, tech enthusiasts, early adopters seeking a less commercialized social experience, artists and writers who want to share work without posts getting buried, journalists and news organizations like TechCrunch, and users who left X due to its paid verification structure. The platform currently has no advertisements and does not use user posts for AI-training purposes, making it attractive for those seeking a cleaner, less intrusive interface.
The platform currently serves around 20-22 million users and continues to develop its roadmap with improvements to the Discover feed, real-time features, and core functionalities. While still growing, Bluesky distinguishes itself through decentralization, account portability, and community-driven moderation tools.
Bluesky pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Bluesky is completely free to use with no ads as of 2025-2026. The platform has announced plans for a paid subscription tier called Bluesky+ that is expected to cost approximately $8 per month or $72 per year. Paid subscription benefits will include custom domain name purchase and management, special profile badge, custom app icons, profile customizations with themes and avatar frames, higher-quality video upload limits, and longer video uploads. Importantly, paying subscribers will not receive any special advantages within the app such as enhanced visibility, preferential treatment over free users, or blue checkmarks. The basic app will always remain free to use.
Bluesky pros
- Decentralized platform with user control over data
- No advertisements as of 2025-2026
- Custom algorithmic feeds with user choice
- Custom domain names as usernames
- Account portability across servers via AT Protocol
- Robust moderation tools including muting and blocking
- Shareable moderation lists for community safety
- No data harvesting for AI training
- Starter Packs for curated following recommendations
- Dark mode support
- Direct messages functionality
- Hashtags supported for content discovery
- Easy data export for account migration
- Clean, less cluttered interface
- No invite code required to join
Bluesky cons
- No private accounts or private profiles available
- No draft post feature
- Video uploads limited to 3 minutes maximum
- Maximum 4 photos per post
- Smaller user base around 20-22 million users
- No creator monetization tools yet
- No verification badges available
- Limited advanced search functionality
- Some app performance issues and bugs reported
- Quote post button not available
Frequently asked questions about Bluesky
How do I join Bluesky?
You can create an account at bsky.app without needing an invite code. You can download the Bluesky app for iOS from the App Store or for Android from Google Play, or use Bluesky directly via desktop web browser.
What are custom feeds on Bluesky?
Custom feeds allow you to pick the algorithm that powers your social media experience. You can choose from feeds showing only posts from mutuals, cat photos, sports, gardening, or any other topic. This feature returns control of your attention to yourself, and developers can create and publish their own algorithms in an open marketplace.
How do I set up my domain as my handle?
Go to Settings in your Bluesky account, select the Advanced section, click Change Handle, then select I have my own domain. You can purchase a domain directly through Bluesky or use an existing domain. You can switch to a domain at any time without losing followers or posts.
What is Bluesky's approach to moderation?
Bluesky has its own moderation team providing 24/7 coverage to uphold community guidelines. They also build an ecosystem of open-source safety tools that gives communities power to create their own spaces with their own norms. Users can create and share moderation lists, mute accounts, block accounts, and report posts or entire accounts through the three-dot menu.
What is public and private on Bluesky?
Bluesky is a public social network where posts and likes are public, blocks are public, and mutelists are public lists. However, mutes themselves are private (the muted account won't know), and mutelist subscriptions are private. There are currently no private profiles on Bluesky.
What does muting do on Bluesky?
Muting prevents you from seeing notifications or top-level posts from an account. If a muted account replies to a thread, you'll see a section saying 'Post from an account you muted' with an option to show the post. The muted account will not know they have been muted.
What does blocking do on Bluesky?
Blocking prevents all interaction. When you block an account, both you and the other account will no longer be able to see or interact with each other's posts. Blocks are public on the platform.
Can I export my Bluesky data?
Yes, the AT Protocol keeps user data in a content-addressed archive that can be used to migrate account data across servers. Developers can use this method to export their repository. For non-developers, tooling is still being built to make data export easy, but you can request your data copy.
Does Bluesky support two-factor authentication?
Implementing 2FA is on Bluesky's short-term roadmap but is not yet available. You can change your account email in Settings and verify it, and you can reset your password using the 'Forgot' option on the sign-in screen which sends a reset code to your email.
Is Bluesky built on blockchain or cryptocurrency?
No, Bluesky is not built on a blockchain and does not use cryptocurrency. It operates on the AT Protocol, which is a federated protocol designed to support public conversations that are portable across different platforms. Bluesky also does not support Handshake (HNS) domains.