Bluesky, the fast-growing social media platform, is increasingly becoming a hub for celebrities and influencers. However, with this surge in popularity comes the challenge of impersonation and identity verification. To address these issues, the platform has rolled out new policies and expanded its moderation team to ensure users can trust the accounts they interact with.
Tackling Impersonation with New Policies
Bluesky’s Safety team unveiled stricter rules aimed at cracking down on impersonation and “handle-squatting” accounts. These accounts, which take on the identity of a well-known person or organization, will be swiftly removed. This decision follows the rise in fraudulent accounts that mislead or deceive users, particularly as more high-profile individuals join the platform.
To address the increasing volume of impersonation reports, Bluesky has expanded its moderation team fourfold. While this should help speed up responses, the company acknowledges there is still a backlog due to the influx of new users, making it a continuous challenge to stay ahead of scammers.
Bolstering Verification Efforts
In light of these challenges, Bluesky is ramping up its efforts to verify the identities of key users and organizations. The platform is working behind the scenes to establish a more secure verification process to ensure the authenticity of accounts, particularly for well-known public figures. This move is crucial as the platform grows in size and influence.
As the platform gains more users, the need to confirm that influential accounts—such as those of politicians, celebrities, or businesses—are genuine becomes even more pressing. Bluesky has emphasized that providing users with confidence in the legitimacy of the accounts they follow is key to maintaining trust.
Allowing Parody and Fan Accounts with Clear Labels
Bluesky does allow parody, satire, and fan accounts, but these must be clearly identified as such in both the account handle and bio. This ensures that users are not misled into thinking they are interacting with the real person or organization. Additionally, the updated guidelines now prohibit “identity churning,” which involves frequently changing details to confuse or deceive other users.
A Different Approach to Verification
Unlike platforms like X (formerly Twitter), which use verified badges to distinguish authentic accounts, Bluesky does not currently offer a similar system. Instead, it relies on indicators like verified domains in user handles. For instance, users affiliated with Bluesky will have the “bsky.team” domain included in their handle.
While this system provides a layer of trust, it may not be practical or sufficient for all users. As a result, Bluesky is working with organizations and high-profile individuals to help them set up verified domain handles, but the process remains a work in progress.
Future Plans for Verification
Bluesky is actively soliciting feedback from its user base regarding how to improve its verification process. Currently, users can partially verify themselves by linking a custom domain to their account. However, this is not a universal solution, as not everyone wants or can use a custom domain.
CEO Jay Graber has hinted at potential future collaborations to improve verification. “We could eventually do more to verify accounts while enabling other apps or organizations to provide their own verification,” he said. This decentralized approach could allow users to choose whether to trust Bluesky’s own verification or opt for an alternative method provided by a third party.
Demand for Stronger Verification Tools
As Bluesky’s user base continues to grow, the need for more robust verification tools has become even more pressing. The platform’s Safety team has acknowledged this demand, with an update stating, “Users want more ways to verify their identity beyond domain verification.” In response, Bluesky is exploring additional verification options and expects to share more details soon.
