In a groundbreaking announcement today, Bluesky – the decentralized Twitter/X rival – has officially opened up its Ozone tool to the public, allowing individuals and teams to review and label content collaboratively on their network. In addition, they have revealed plans to give users the ability to run their own independent moderation services starting later this week. This means that subscribers can now access a wider range of moderation options on top of Bluesky’s default moderation service.
In a blog post, Bluesky stated that this change will provide users with “unprecedented control” over their social media experience. The company’s vision for moderation is to have a stackable ecosystem of services, which is why they are allowing the installation of filters from independent moderation services. This enables users to customize their experience according to their personal preferences.
For example, you could install a moderation service that blocks all images of spiders on the network if you have a fear of these eight-legged creatures. This will ensure that any labeled spider pictures will not appear in your feed, preventing any potential jump scares.
“One team will never be perfect at moderation and curation for the entire world, with its wide variety of contexts, cultures, and preferences,” the blog post reads. “So we’re excited about opening the ecosystem to empower experts, developers, and users with local context to provide their own input that you can additionally subscribe to, on top of Bluesky’s moderation service.”
The moderation service filters will initially be available on the desktop version of Bluesky and will soon be accessible on mobile as well.
According to Bluesky, installing filters from independent moderation services will be as easy as following another account. These moderation services also allow users to report content if they come across any unlabeled images or posts. This provides a more efficient way of addressing issues instead of tagging specific accounts directly.
Bluesky already allows for the creation of mute or block lists that other users can subscribe to. However, these lists are typically tied to a specific account, limiting collaboration and potentially becoming overwhelming if multiple individuals start tagging you directly. Unlike a block list, the Ozone tool allows you to label specific posts, providing more detailed and effective moderation.
Individuals and teams who create a moderation service will have access to a reporting queue, eliminating the need for people to tag them directly every time. This also allows for multiple individuals to manage the service together, as it is not tied to individual accounts.
Bluesky acknowledges that moderation services are likely to start off as community-run projects, but also hints that there is potential for them to have paid subscribers in the future. This opens up opportunities for individuals and teams to monetize their expertise and contributions.
The open source tool can be found on GitHub, providing easy access for developers and users alike.
