As more celebrity and influential users join Bluesky, the platform has faced additional challenges related to impersonation and verified identity.
Bluesky Security notified the company on Friday that its impersonation coverage had been updated to be “significantly more aggressive”, with the added warning that “all impersonation and handle-squatting accounts would likely be terminated.”
The corporation aims to respond more swiftly to impersonation claims, thanks to a quadrupling of its moderation team size. However, a significant backlog persists due to an influx of new users, as it still struggles to clear the existing moderation stories.
The uncertainty surrounding Bluesky’s authenticity has been a topic of discussion among users in recent weeks, with multiple individuals posing the question “Is this account actual or a parody?” in their posts, yet receiving no conclusive answers from the community. Customers from diverse backgrounds are increasingly collaborating to create their own.
One reason for the ambiguity: Bluesky’s lack of a verified profile badge, similar to Twitter’s (formerly known as verified and now rebranded as). To gauge credibility, one might consider various metrics, such as the presence of verified domains within a person’s handle; for example, a “bsky.crew” suffix in an account’s name could imply affiliation with Bluesky.
Bluesky has been working discreetly to help numerous organisations and prominent individuals secure their verified area handles, a move that underscores its commitment to supporting key stakeholders in this space.
According to corporate statements, parodies and fan accounts are permitted, but they must clearly label themselves in each show identification and bio to help others recognize the account is unofficial. Additionally, BlueSky has clarified that “id churning” – creating an impersonation account solely to gain followers and switch to a different identity without disclosing the impersonation – is not allowed, and such accounts will be removed if discovered.
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber noted that, ultimately, the company may invest additional effort in verifying accounts while simultaneously empowering other apps or organizations to provide their own verification mechanisms. “They’ll either choose to trust our verification process – that of the Bluesky team – or they might opt for their own,” he said.
In a final statement, Bluesky Security’s team reiterated that they are committed to incorporating customer feedback, specifically acknowledging the demand for more robust identity confirmation measures beyond location-based verification. We are continuing to investigate additional options for enhancing account verification and anticipate announcing new developments in the near future.
