Bluesky, the decentralized social network created as an alternative to X (formerly Twitter), has reached a new milestone of 40 million users.
Alongside the announcement, the company revealed that it will soon begin testing a “dislikes” feature aimed at improving personalization across its Discover feed and other parts of the platform.
The new feature will allow users to mark posts they don’t want to see. Over time, Bluesky’s system will learn from these dislikes to show more relevant content and reduce posts that users find uninteresting or irritating. The dislikes will also help improve reply rankings, shaping what kind of conversations appear most prominently in feeds.
Bluesky says the goal behind the changes is to make the platform a space for “fun, genuine, and respectful exchanges.” The announcement follows a period of tension on the platform, as some users criticized Bluesky for not doing enough to moderate harmful or controversial accounts. While the network is designed to let users manage moderation themselves, some have called for stricter enforcement from the company.
Instead of central moderation, Bluesky is focusing on giving users more tools to shape their own experience. These tools include moderation lists that block groups of users, content filters, muted words, and the option to subscribe to third-party moderation services. Users can also detach quote posts to avoid unwanted attention — a feature intended to prevent the kind of public “dunking” culture that often occurs on X.
Beyond the new dislike option, Bluesky is experimenting with several updates to make discussions more relevant and easier to follow. One of these involves mapping “social neighborhoods,” or clusters of people who frequently interact. Replies from users in your neighborhood will be prioritized, helping you see more familiar and meaningful conversations.
The company is also improving its systems to detect and downrank replies that are toxic, spammy, or irrelevant. In another usability change, the Reply button will now lead users to the full thread before composing a response, encouraging them to read the conversation first and avoid repetitive or misplaced replies.
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Bluesky believes these changes will help build a healthier, more engaging environment as the platform continues to grow, while keeping user control and community moderation at its core.
