Bluesky is preparing to launch a new feature called “communities” later this year, giving users smaller spaces where they can connect with people who share the same interests.
Alex Benzer, Bluesky’s head of product, said the feature is designed for users who want to go deeper into specific topics and spend time with others who care about the same things. The communities will be built on the decentralized AT Protocol, the same technology that powers Bluesky. Benzer described it as a new structure for the wider AT Protocol ecosystem, often called the “Atmosphere.”
According to Benzer, Bluesky users will be able to create communities, join them, post inside them, and receive updates. The main Bluesky experience will remain simple, but communities will also exist on the open web. That means they can be customized further with other apps and tools built around the AT Protocol.
Each community will have its own handle, which will also work as a URL. When users visit that URL, they will land on a custom homepage for the community. Benzer said developers will also be able to create a fully custom experience for those pages.
Bluesky communities will support three privacy options: public, invite-only, and private. Each community will also have its own feed, allowing members to follow posts and conversations around that specific space.
The update comes after Bluesky COO Rose Wang said the company wants to move away from being only a “public square.” She said Bluesky has been inspired by platforms like Reddit, where smaller topic-based communities help users gather around shared interests.
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Bluesky is moving in this direction as other social platforms also test similar ideas. Meta’s Threads is currently testing a communities feature, while X announced in April that it would shut down its own version of communities.
