Bluesky, what used to be a less-known social media app, is growing massively day by day. The platform recently crossed the milestone of a 20 million user base and now stands as a direct competitor to X and Threads. It has a lot of catching up to do, though. As the platform is growing rapidly, the company recently assured its users that it won’t train AI on their posts. Now, Bluesky is cracking down on impersonators by introducing new verification and policy updates.
Bluesky introduces new verification and policy updates to tackle impersonators
Bluesky has announced that it will remove accounts that impersonate or try to obtain usernames they shouldn’t have. The company reportedly decided on this policy after research highlighted problems related to multiple fake accounts impersonating some of the most-followed Bluesky accounts.
Although Bluesky lets you verify who you really are, it isn’t as simple as buying blue ticks similar to X (formerly Twitter). You can currently link a website you own to verify your identity on Bluesky. But, most people don’t do that.
Generally, when someone verifies their account on Bluesky, the old username is available for others to use. This further adds to the existing verification issues. Therefore, it’s quite tricky to figure out a genuine Bluesky account of a person or organization.
Therefore, the new policy requires fan and parody accounts to be clearly labeled, failing to do so may result in account removal altogether. The company is also working with some popular personalities and companies to help them verify their accounts.
Users who often change their identity on the platform may face a ban
Bluesky also warns that users who often change their identity on the platform might have to serve a ban. Apart from these measures, Bluesky might introduce new ways to help people spot genuine accounts. However, the company didn’t mention any specifics.
Bluesky has been seeing a massive surge in number of signups in the past few months. Although the newly announced measures might be a small step, it’s commendable to witness the company ensuring to protect its users from impersonators.
Impersonating profiles has been a headache in the social media industry. However, major players are doing enough to tackle this issue. Thefore, it’ll be interesting to see what additional measures Bluesky will take down the line.