Bluesky announced on Monday that it is rolling out blue check verification, confirming previous rumors that this feature was on its way to the platform.
Like Twitter’s original blue check (RIP), Bluesky’s blue check will verify that notable accounts are legitimate, making it easy for users to trust that an account’s posts are real.
In its earliest phase, Bluesky will work with a select few “Trusted Verifiers,” which are independent organizations that can verify accounts as members of their team. For example, a company could verify members of its public relations team with blue checks, making it easier for users to see that these people can be trusted as sources of company news.
Bluesky says that its moderation team will verify each new verification to validate authenticity.
Bluesky already had a form of verification, letting any user set a domain they own as their username. For example, you’d know that TechCrunch’s account is real because it is verified with the TechCrunch domain name, which an impersonator would not be able to access.
In the case of public figures like celebrities, journalists, and politicians, this additional layer of verification can help the platform cut down on disinformation from impersonators. According to Bluesky, 270,000 accounts have linked their Bluesky username to a website.
“Domain handles continue to be an important part of verification on Bluesky,” the Bluesky team wrote in a blog post. “At the same time, we’ve heard from users that a larger visual signal would be useful in knowing which accounts are authentic.”
At launch, Bluesky is not accepting applications for verification, but it said it plans to launch a request form in the future.
Amanda Silberling is a senior writer at TechCrunch covering the intersection of technology and culture. She has also written for publications like Polygon, MTV, the Kenyon Review, NPR, and Business Insider. She is the co-host of Wow If True, a podcast about internet culture, with science fiction author Isabel J. Kim. Prior to joining TechCrunch, she worked as a grassroots organizer, museum educator, and film festival coordinator. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and served as a Princeton in Asia Fellow in Laos.
Send tips through Signal, an encrypted messaging app, to (929) 593-0227. For anything else, email amanda@techcrunch.com.
