Bluesky Introduces Private Bookmarking Feature for Personalized Content Organization on Social Network

A groundbreaking feature is making its debut on social networking platform Bluesky: bookmarks. This much-anticipated addition, named Saved Posts, was unveiled on Monday.

Accessible via a new icon beneath each post, nestled between the heart for favorites, the new bookmark feature allows users to privately save posts of interest. These saved posts can be easily accessed from the newly introduced “Saved” section in the app’s primary navigation.

While likes and bookmarks may seem similar in function on a social media platform – both serving as a means to mark content for future reference – bookmarks provide a private alternative to public likes. In Bluesky, account data is publicly accessible, making liked posts also visible to all. However, not everyone prefers this level of public exposure, particularly when it comes to personal content or subjects they’d rather keep private.

For instance, journalists might use bookmarks to save posts they intend to reference later, without announcing their research interests. Others may prefer to bookmark favorite adult content.

Recognizing the potential pitfalls of public likes, X, another social platform, opted last year to conceal user likes. Employees from X suggested that public likes could foster undesirable behavior, as users might shy away from liking controversial content or be cautious about maintaining a favorable public image.

Currently, the AT Protocol, which powers Bluesky and other smaller social apps, lacks support for private data. As such, there’s no means to hide user likes. To circumvent this limitation, Bluesky developed an off-protocol method to store bookmarks privately, mirroring the privacy offered by its direct messaging feature. If and when the protocol adopts private data support, this approach may evolve.

In the interim, the introduction of saved posts on Bluesky could stimulate user interaction with content, while offering a curated collection of only saved posts for future reference, rather than a scroll through casual likes. It also provides an alternative to saving posts using the red pushpin emoji, a common workaround among Bluesky users. A convenient migration tool is available for those who previously employed this method.

The latest update to the Bluesky app, released just days ago, includes several additional features: a unified button for both photo and video uploads, tools for offering feedback to custom feed creators, and an option to invite others to a Starter Park – a collection of recommended users to follow, which anyone can create.