Bluesky users can now get verified on the platform
It will give legitimate creators/influencers a way to prove their identity.
Another day, another platform rolls out its verification process. This time, it’s Bluesky’s turn to play catch-up.
The X (formerly Twitter) alternative is now letting users apply for verification, just a month after announcing it would begin granting blue checkmarks to certain “notable” accounts. Although it’s still not clear how Bluesky is defining who qualifies.
Right now, verification begins with a multi-page Google Form that asks users to explain why they should be verified and what category they fall under, like journalists, public figures, athletes, brands, etc. The company says it’s looking for accounts that are “active and secure, authentic, and notable.” Helpful, sure. But not exactly precise.
Louis Eriakha
There’s also no guarantee of success. Meeting the basic criteria doesn’t mean you’ll get verified, and Bluesky admits the criteria is still a work in progress. “Our criteria for verification is evolving based on user feedback,” the company notes in the form. In other words, they’re building the plane as they fly it.
That might be a problem. With over 36 million sign-ups, as per reports, and a small internal team, Bluesky could be in for a flood of applications that outpace its ability to review them effectively. And considering the platform has already faced challenges with impersonation, the stakes are high.
Bluesky resisted in-house verification for a long time, leaning instead on “verified domains” and decentralised trust. Now, it’s borrowing a page from the playbooks of X and Instagram, who began rolling out user verifications a couple years back. Notably, it’s also expanding its “trusted verifiers” program, third-party groups that can vouch for a user’s legitimacy, giving them a slightly different badge.
Verification is no longer about exclusivity; it’s about trust at scale. But if Bluesky wants to avoid the chaos that followed X’s pay-for-verification approach, it’ll need more than a Google Form and vague guidelines.
