Bluesky to roll out verification for organisations and users

Social media platform Bluesky said it is implementing a new programme to verify users, bringing in its version of the check mark favoured by X, Instagram and Facebook.

Bluesky said it would proactively verify authentic any notable accounts, adding the check next to their names. It is also selecting a number of independent organisations that can verify accounts directly through a “Trusted Verifiers” feature. Accounts with that power will have a scalloped check mark next to their username. Bluesky will also review those verifications.

The new programme is in addition to the previous method, which allowed individuals and organisations to set their web domain name as their username. More than 270,000 accounts have availed of that feature.

“Domain handles continue to be an important part of verification on Bluesky,” the company said in an update. “At the same time, we’ve heard from users that a larger visual signal would be useful in knowing which accounts are authentic.”

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Among the trusted verifiers are The New York Times and Bluesky itself.

The plan was announced on Monday, with users seeing the new check marks after an update to their app.

The company said it was not yet accepting direct applications for verification, instead opting to get the feature up and running properly. It plans to launch a request form for notable and authentic accounts interested in becoming verified or becoming trusted verifiers at a later date.

Bluesky has emerged as one of the competitors for X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, with a number of high profile users joining the platform, including former US president Barack Obama.

The network technology that underpins the service, the AT protocol, is decentralised, meaning no one company has control over its operation, and open source, giving developers a chance to work with it.

X saw an exodus of users following the changes made in the wake of Elon Musk’s purchase of the company. Although Twitter had a verified user programme, the change to X saw Mr Musk change it to a paid-for feature, leading to confusion as accounts used the system to impersonate other accounts.

The new premium service on X also gives subscribers priority placing in replies and access to features such as larger word counts and editing of posts.