I have been a Twitter (now X) consumer for nearly a decade, however I just lately put in Bluesky on my system, and I feel it is going to be my subsequent X. Whereas most of Bluesky’s default settings are advantageous, there are seven choices I like to recommend you alter straight away in the event you make the change.
1 Change the Darkish Mode Settings
By default, Bluesky’s shade scheme is about to match the system settings. This implies in case your smartphone is set to dark mode, Bluesky may even seem in darkish mode.
Nevertheless, I want retaining my smartphone in darkish mode whereas utilizing apps in mild mode. That is why the very first thing I did after setting up Bluesky on my telephone was to alter the colour scheme.
If you wish to change Bluesky’s shade scheme, faucet the hamburger icon within the top-left nook and choose “Settings” from the menu. Within the Settings menu, go to “Look” beneath the Primary part. From there, you’ll be able to select your most well-liked shade mode and theme. If you choose the darkish scheme, you may even have the choice to decide on between Dim and Darkish themes.
Moreover, within the Look menu, you’ll be able to customise the font theme and font measurement to your liking.
2 Regulate the Moderation Settings
I typically hand my smartphone to my youthful brother, and I actually don’t desire him uncovered to any grownup content material or language when he checks out my Bluesky account. To stop this, I’ve adjusted the moderation settings on Bluesky.
To cover grownup content material on Bluesky, go to the “Moderation” possibility within the Settings menu and faucet the “Allow Grownup Content material” toggle. Then, beneath the Non-sexual Nudity possibility, choose “Conceal.”
Sooner or later, if you wish to allow grownup content material on Bluesky, you may want to take action by the online. Open Bluesky on your desktop, choose “Settings” from the left sidebar, go to “Moderation,” and activate the “Allow Grownup Content material” toggle.
To make sure Bluesky does not present phrases or tags you do not need showing in your account, go to the “Muted Phrases & Tags” possibility within the Moderation window. Enter the phrases or tags you wish to block, set the length for which you need them muted, and faucet the “Add” button.
In the event you resolve to take away muted phrases from the record later, open the “Muted Phrases & Tags” possibility and faucet the cross icon subsequent to the phrase you wish to unmute. It will let you see these phrases once more.
3 Repair the Thread Kind Order
I’ve all the time believed that the extra likes a reply will get, the extra attention-grabbing it’s. Nevertheless, by default, whenever you view a thread on Bluesky, the platform exhibits you the oldest reply within the thread first. Since I want studying replies with probably the most likes, I’ve modified the thread choice settings to show probably the most favored replies first.
To replace your thread choice settings, open the Settings and go to “Thread Preferences.” This can be beneath a “Content material and Media” possibility, relying in your system. Now choose “Most-Appreciated Replies First” beneath the Kind Replies part, or whichever kind order you need.
Moreover, if you need extra of a Reddit-like experience whereas looking threads on Bluesky, you’ll be able to allow the “Threaded Mode” toggle, which is an experimental characteristic on the time of writing.
4 Select Who Can Message You
Identical to most social media apps, Bluesky allows you to configure who can contact you through messages on the platform. Since I typically obtain collaboration requests from completely different firms, I’ve set this feature to “Everybody,” which suggests anybody with a Bluesky account can attain out to me.
Nevertheless, in the event you’d want that solely your followers can message you, go to the Settings menu, choose “Chat Settings,” and select “Customers I Observe.”
iPhone customers must open “Chat” from the hamburger menu and faucet the “Filter” button within the top-right to search out this feature.
5 Set Up App Passwords
App Passwords is considered one of the most interesting features on Bluesky. These are per-application passwords that let you combine platforms like SkyFeed, constructed by the Bluesky neighborhood, into the platform.
To make use of App Passwords, go to the Settings menu and choose “App Passwords.” Relying in your system, this feature could also be beneath “Privateness and Safety.” Then, faucet “Add App Password.”
Enter a reputation to your app password. It is best to select a reputation that makes it straightforward to establish the app the password is for. You may additionally see an “Enable Entry to Your Direct Messages” checkbox. I like to recommend leaving this unchecked as a result of if the app with this permission is compromised or hacked, an unauthorized particular person might acquire entry to your private messages. As soon as executed, click on the “Create App Password” button.
On the following display screen, you may see a novel app password. Merely copy the password and paste it on the login web page for the third-party Bluesky shopper, like SkyFeed, you wish to use.
Utilizing app passwords ensures you do not have to enter your foremost Bluesky password when signing in to third-party purchasers. You may solely want to offer your Bluesky username or electronic mail deal with and the generated app password to log in.
6 Regulate the Content material Language Settings
Bluesky helps a variety of languages. Which means it doesn’t matter what your native language is, you’ll be able to simply use the app. Nevertheless, the added benefit of utilizing Bluesky is its content material language settings.
This characteristic means that you can configure the languages you need your subscribed feeds to incorporate. By default, it’s set to English and French. Since Hindi is my native language, I’ve configured the settings to English and Hindi.
You possibly can customise the content material language settings to your choice by deciding on “Languages” within the Settings menu. Then, faucet the chosen language beneath Content material Languages. Select your most well-liked languages and faucet the “Finished” button.
7 Allow 2FA
Enabling two-factor authentication is without doubt one of the most vital safety steps you’ll be able to take lately. It requires you to enter a particular code acquired through your chosen methodology to log into your account, stopping different folks from logging in even when they’ve your password.
Bluesky helps two-factor authentication by electronic mail. This implies you may obtain the code in your registered electronic mail deal with.
To allow two-factor authentication on Bluesky, activate the “Require electronic mail code to log into your account” toggle beneath the two-factor authentication part. On iPhones, that is within the “Privateness and Safety” settings.
Now, every time somebody tries to log into Bluesky on one other platform, like on a desktop, you may obtain a two-factor authentication code through electronic mail, which you may must enter to finish the login course of.
These are the primary adjustments I made to my Bluesky account, and I would recommend everybody takes a have a look at these choices to get the app working greatest for them straight away. There are additionally loads of different settings on the platform that you would be able to configure primarily based in your preferences.
