Decentralized social network Bluesky recently announced that users can now view posts on its platform without needing to log in or create an account. While posting still requires an invite-only account, this update allows anyone to access Bluesky’s content through links and embeds.
As Bluesky CEO Jay Graber explained in a blog post, this change will enable publishers to link to or embed Bluesky posts in external sites and allow users to share posts in chat apps. Logged-out users will get a read-only view into the emerging platform.
Graber also unveiled Bluesky’s new butterfly logo, noting that users had already adopted the icon to represent their Bluesky handles. The butterfly symbolizes the startup’s goal of transforming social media.
The privacy-focused network was founded in 2019 to counter big tech’s dominance of social media. Led by former Reddit CEO Chris Slowe, Bluesky aims to decentralize social interactions by building an open protocol called AT Protocol. This would allow developers to build interoperable social apps and services. Bluesky itself is simply the first app built on this protocol.
After hitting 2 million users earlier this year, Bluesky has focused on improving content moderation - facing criticism around some posts shared on the platform. The company plans to enable protocol-level federation in 2023, allowing separate Bluesky instances with distinct rules to interact.
By opening up read-only access, Bluesky furthers its transparent approach to social networking - inviting unregistered users into the experience while giving account holders controls around broader visibility. As debates continue around social platforms and data access, Bluesky’s commitment to user agency provides a counterexample to closed, algorithmically-driven networks.