Bluesky has hit 40 million users and is marking the milestone by testing one of social media’s most divisive features: the “dislike” button. The platform says the new feature isn’t about fueling negativity—it’s about helping its algorithms figure out what users don’t want to see. In other words, it’s a polite way of telling your feed, “please, no more of this.”
The “dislikes” beta will roll out soon and feed into Bluesky’s personalization system, adjusting both the main Discover feed and reply rankings. The more users tap “dislike,” the better the app should get at filtering out unwanted content—at least in theory. The company insists the goal is to make Bluesky a space for “fun, genuine, and respectful exchanges,” though that claim follows a bumpy few weeks of user debates over moderation and free speech.
Unlike centralized platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Bluesky is built around decentralized moderation, meaning users can control their own filters, blocklists, and feeds. Still, not everyone loves that approach. Some users have called on Bluesky to take a stronger hand in banning problematic accounts rather than leaving the heavy lifting to individuals and third-party moderation services.
To that end, Bluesky continues to focus on giving users more granular tools: moderation lists to block groups, content filters, muted words, and even the ability to subscribe to different moderation providers. The platform also lets users “detach” quote posts to avoid the performative pile-ons that once defined Twitter’s “dunk culture.”
Alongside “dislikes,” Bluesky is experimenting with changes to how conversations appear. A new ranking system will emphasize replies from people within your “social neighborhood”—that is, the clusters of users you actually interact with—so feeds feel more personal and less chaotic. It’s a direct attempt to avoid the disjointed, mid-conversation feeds that have plagued rivals like Meta’s Threads.
Other tweaks are focused on user behavior. Replies deemed toxic, spammy, or off-topic will be quietly demoted, and hitting “Reply” will now take you to the full thread before you start typing—a subtle nudge to read before responding. The platform also plans to make reply settings more visible, reminding users they can choose who’s allowed to respond in the first place.
Bluesky’s updates suggest it’s trying to walk a tightrope: maintaining the freedom of a decentralized network while preventing it from devolving into the same noise and hostility that drove users away from legacy platforms. Whether a “dislike” button can make social media friendlier—or just more complicated—remains to be seen.
