Bluesky is taking a few pages out of the social media playbook. The announced that it is working on new features like decentralized social app DM, video and improved Custom Feeds. The company went public in February and claims to have grown since then 40,000 to 5.6 million users in a year.
DMs is a particularly notable release, as all posts on Bluesky are currently open, but the company’s new DM option will be integrated directly into the app. These messages should initially only be available one-on-one, and users can limit who can communicate by choosing between open, followed-only users, and disabled. The company uses an open-source framework, but the development of DMs will initially be “off-protocol,” so Bluesky can build them “iteratively.”
Videos are in the works, with Bluesky predicting that clips of up to 90 seconds can be shared. The company is exploring multiple ideas for Custom Feeds, including trending feeds, in-app feed creation, and room for improved feed discovery in general. Bluesky also accepts OAuth and hopes that users will one day “Sign in with Bluesky”.
None of Bluesky’s upcoming updates have a release date yet, but the company expects to roll them all out over the next few months. The platform was especially supported by Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter. However, Dorsey recently confirmed that he is no longer on Bluesky’s board.
