Bluesky has introduced a number of new “anti-toxic” features that aim to help users protect themselves against harassment and dogpiling. Announced via a recent blog postVersion 1.90 of the decentralized social media platform adds tools that can limit exposure to unwanted interactions with other users, such as an option to separate your post from someone else's quote.
The update allows users to view all posts that quote a post they've made and then unlink the original post so that it can no longer be seen beneath the other user's comment, preventing readers from seeing it and clicking to engage. It's already possible to cut off engagement by blocking the person who posted the quote, but unlinking the post offers a less drastic option.
The downside, as Bluesky notes, is that this update allows users who spread misinformation to separate their posts from cited posts that correct it. “To address this, we are leaning toward labeling services and hope to integrate a Community Notes-like feature in the future,” the company said in the blog post. For now, it’s a trade-off that could mitigate one of the more unpleasant aspects of posting your opinions online.
Version 1.90 of the Bluesky app also lets users hide replies to their posts, moving them behind a dedicated “Hidden Replies” screen, where they can be viewed again with less visibility. (The hide replies feature has been available on x, formerly twitter, for years.) Bluesky is also moving away from promoting every single reply in the “Following” feed; it will now only show conversations that include replies between at least two followers.
Thanks to Bluesky's design, Quote deletions and hidden replies are public data, similar to blocking other users. Bluesky says its app will not include all deleted quotes from the original post, but that data will still be accessible through Bluesky's API.
Additional changes include a new priority filter that allows users to receive notifications only from people they follow, as well as the ability to limit their appearance on lists. When a user blocks someone who has created a starter pack or a curated user list, they will also be banned from any of these lists, except for moderation lists that control muting and blocking.
There’s a nice selection of anti-harassment tools on the platform, but Bluesky says it’s not finished yet — additional changes are being made “to combat ban evasion, botnets, and other forms of toxicity.” The company plans to share more details about those efforts next week.
