Bluesky
Decentralized microblogging social network built on the AT Protocol.
HN commenters like Bluesky as a Twitter alternative where many tech accounts have moved,1234 for its custom feeds and control over the timeline,5678 and for ATProto data portability and a good mobile web experience.9101112 The most common complaint is that political, combative content dominates,13141516 and some say the people and topics they care about are not there.1718
Why people recommend it
Custom feeds · 3
Third-party and custom feeds let users shape their timeline beyond the defaults.
“the custom feeds are a great feature”
“This is one of the things that I like about BlueSky.”
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“i switched from twitter to bluesky”
Data portability · 3
ATProto lets users self-host data or move to other servers while staying on the network.
“On ATProto, you can self-host your data while still making use of Bluesky/etc, in a way that you can't do with Mastodon or even email.”
“The fact that most people aren't doing that is a sign that people are happy with how Bluesky-the-company is running things.”
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“99.9% of my interaction with bluesky and atproto at large is independent of bluesky the corporation”
Twitter alternative · 3
It feels close to Twitter, and many tech accounts have migrated there.
“Practically every tech account I used to follow has migrated to Bluesky or Mastodon by now.”
“Bluesky is almost like Twitter”
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“honestly BlueSky seems a better tradeoff then Twitter, at least for now”
Mobile web · 3
The mobile browser and PWA work well without the native app.
“one of the things I love about Bluesky is that you don’t need to use a mobile app to have a good UX”
“I use the PWA instead of the app on mobile. It works better for me.”
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“always used the mobile Web version”
Easier discovery · 1
One user found it easier than Mastodon to find people they wanted to follow.
“I found it too difficult to locate "my peeps" on other instances, so I switched to Bluesky.”
Academic community · 1
Part of the academic CS community is becoming active there, with paper-focused feeds.
“a pretty significant portion of the academic CS community are beginning to materialize on bluesky”
Caveats and dissent
Political toxicity · 3
Several users find feeds drift into politics or feel like a cesspool.
“I really can't deal with BlueSky.”
“now I get the raw unfiltered feed and JFC is it a cesspool.”
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“Both platforms seem to have some extremely political folks”
Missing network · 2
Some can't find people discussing their interests, which one calls a scale problem.
“I LOVE what Bluesky is doing with atproto and was there pretty early as a result, but I didn't stick around”
“The engineering philosophy for AT / Bluesky is incredible”
Weak recommendations · 2
The algorithm misread one user's interests, and another found the default feed boring.
“Bluesky had no idea what my interests were.”
“i switched from twitter to bluesky”
Centralization concerns · 2
Critics say it is less decentralized than advertised and relies on Bluesky's relays.
“Bluesky attempting a hostile takeover on federated and decentralized social networks”
“If I use bluesky's relays, it's cheap and shows everyone I follow, but it'll stop working if bluesky disappears.”
Mental health · 2
Some say it hurts their mood and lump it with doomscroll apps.
“When I used X or bluesky or Reddit they have a noticeable negative impact on my mental state.”
“I highly recommend dropping the dopaminergic doomloop apps like Reddit/Bluesky/X/tiktok/IG.”
No threading · 1
One commenter dislikes the lack of threaded discussion and awkward post navigation.
“I absolutely hate how there is no threaded discussion on Bluesky or Mastodon”
Often compared with
4 moved from X (Twitter) to Bluesky
1 moved from Bluesky to X (Twitter)
1 moved from Mastodon to BlueskyThreads6 comments mention both
1 moved from Threads to BlueskyBlacksky5 comments mention both
1 moved from Bluesky to Blacksky
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Bluesky's active user base is shrinking as its focus expands beyond the app 9 mentions
- Be Wary of Bluesky 5 mentions
- Ask HN: Have you managed to switch to Bluesky for tech people? 3 mentions
- Ask HN: Alternatives to Twitter/X? 2 mentions
- Nitter and XCancel receive cease and desist notices 2 mentions
- Tell HN: I'm going on strike this November 1 mention
Data: bluesky.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 40
“extractive social media currently plaguing society”
“I found it too difficult to locate "my peeps" on other instances, so I switched to Bluesky.”
“You can choose any server on bluesky nowadays.”
“Bluesky is almost like Twitter”
“My friends and furs are on mastodon, tumblr, and Bluesky”
“I use bluesky semi-frequently”
“I LOVE what Bluesky is doing with atproto and was there pretty early as a result, but I didn't stick around”
“I really can't deal with BlueSky.”
“I use Bluesky regularly and have a fine experience.”
“I use the PWA instead of the app on mobile. It works better for me.”
“always used the mobile Web version”
“Bluesky had no idea what my interests were.”
“the custom feeds are a great feature”
“one of the things I love about Bluesky is that you don’t need to use a mobile app to have a good UX”
“I actually don't mind Bluesky.”
“When I used X or bluesky or Reddit they have a noticeable negative impact on my mental state.”
“providing tighter control of what is in your feed”
“The engineering philosophy for AT / Bluesky is incredible”
“On ATProto, you can self-host your data while still making use of Bluesky/etc, in a way that you can't do with Mastodon or even email.”
“i switched from twitter to bluesky”
“Also, Bluesky itself is open-source.”
“a bsky account (once a month)”
“whatever "censorship" Bluesky imposes can be avoided with different clients in most cases and different PDSs in worst cases”
“Practically every tech account I used to follow has migrated to Bluesky or Mastodon by now.”
“If I use bluesky's relays, it's cheap and shows everyone I follow, but it'll stop working if bluesky disappears.”
“99.9% of my interaction with bluesky and atproto at large is independent of bluesky the corporation”
“I absolutely hate how there is no threaded discussion on Bluesky or Mastodon”
“On X and similarly on Bluesky all users lack emotional development.”
“honestly BlueSky seems a better tradeoff then Twitter, at least for now”
“Bluesky attempting a hostile takeover on federated and decentralized social networks”
“BlueSky is a direct alternative to Twitter.”
“The fact that most people aren't doing that is a sign that people are happy with how Bluesky-the-company is running things.”
“now I get the raw unfiltered feed and JFC is it a cesspool.”
“Both platforms seem to have some extremely political folks”
“BlueSky is equally in cahoots with authoritarianists and fascists.”
“a pretty significant portion of the academic CS community are beginning to materialize on bluesky”
“I mostly stay away from algorithmic timelines and deactivate retweets etc on X and Bluesky.”
“This is one of the things that I like about BlueSky.”
“occasionally look into BlueSky”
“I highly recommend dropping the dopaminergic doomloop apps like Reddit/Bluesky/X/tiktok/IG.”