Bluesky adds an 'algorithmic opt-out' feature for those who don't want to go viral

After adding support for longer videos just yesterday, open social network Bluesky on Thursday introduced a new algorithmic opt-out feature that allows users to stop their posts from appearing in the app’s main Discover feed.

That algorithmic feed can currently surface any post on Bluesky’s network, as posts on the network are public by default.

To be clear, this latest change isn’t a way to make posts private — Bluesky is still working on rolling out support for private data at the protocol level. Instead, the feature simply makes a user’s public posts less discoverable to people outside their existing personal network.

The company says it created the feature because not everyone using its social media site wants to go viral. Sometimes, people just want to post for their followers without having their words exposed to larger crowds.

To opt out of having posts shown in the Discover feed, users can toggle on a new option in the app’s Privacy and Security settings. The change can take up to an hour to fully take effect, the company says.

It’s also worth noting that Bluesky’s implementation of the feature extends beyond its own app.

Instead of just being a setting that applies only within Bluesky, the preference is recorded at the account level. That means the choice travels with the user, even if they’re posting from another app that is powered by the same underlying protocol that Bluesky uses, AT Proto.

However, while those other apps have access to this information, they still have to choose whether to respect it.