Importance Score: 55 / 100 🔵
One year ago, Bluesky debuted publicly, recognized as a competitor to X, formerly known as Twitter, following its acquisition by Elon Musk. Now, the Bluesky social network boasts over 33 million users. Its underlying technology, the AT Protocol (Authenticated Transfer Protocol, or ATProto), powers numerous applications, fostering an interconnected and open social web ecosystem. The growth of Bluesky and the AT Protocol highlight the increasing interest in decentralized social media platforms.
Developers behind these diverse applications convened at the inaugural AT Protocol conference, ATmosphere, held in Seattle last weekend. Attendees explored the future trajectory of ATProto, discussed ongoing challenges, and considered crucial factors for building within this nascent social application ecosystem. Many participated remotely, accessing talks and presentations online and engaging in the expanding community Discord chat.
The ATProto community aims to reconstruct Web 2.0, the earlier iteration of the social web characterized by social media platforms, blogs, wikis, and video and photo-sharing services, among other collaborative platforms. This time, however, applications are constructed using open-source technology, diverging from siloed, centralized services typically operated by major technology corporations.
Bluesky pioneered this wave of services, but its emergence is anticipated to be just the beginning of a broader movement toward an open social web with lasting impact.
Below is a curated list of consumer-focused applications built on the AT Protocol, either directly on Bluesky or leveraging its foundational protocol. These tools empower users to regain command over their social networking experiences and personal data. While many are in early-stage development, they illustrate the potential of this burgeoning ecosystem.
Photo and Video Sharing Applications
Explore apps focused on visual content sharing for the AT Protocol.
Flashes
Flashes is presented as an alternative to Instagram. Developed by Berlin-based developer Sebastian Vogelsang, building upon his prior Bluesky client, Skeets, Flashes launched publicly in late February. It quickly gained traction, accumulating 30,000 downloads within its first 24 hours by emulating a familiar Instagram-like user experience. Users can upload up to four photos or videos, now with an extended limit of 3 minutes, increased from 1 minute due to a recent Bluesky update. The application features photo filters, curated content streams from artists, personalized feeds, and a Portfolio Mode tailored for photographers to display their work.
Spark
Spark, initially named Reelo, is a video-centric platform built on the AT Protocol, extending beyond just Bluesky’s framework. This approach enables Spark to offer a wider range of functionalities, including support for longer-duration videos, filters, special effects, a music library, and planned integration of live streaming.
Skylight Social
Skylight Social, developed by Seattle co-founders Victoria (“Tori”) White and Reed Harmeyer, is constructed on Bluesky and incorporates standard social media features such as likes, follows, comments, and user profile pages. Users can monitor the application’s ongoing development through its co-founder’s TikTok page as the team implements additional features, including video capability.
The application is currently undergoing testing on both iOS and Android platforms.
Pinksky
Pinksky represents another application endeavoring to establish an Instagram alternative utilizing ATProto. Created by developer Ramon Souza, Pinksky is accessible on both iOS and Android operating systems. It prioritizes photo sharing, mirroring the original functionality of Instagram. The application offers features comparable to Instagram, encompassing user profiles, a news feed displaying photos and videos, and a Stories feature for posts with 24-hour visibility.
Bluescreen (TikTok Alternative)
Bluescreen, also developed by Vogelsang, is an upcoming application designed to showcase videos posted on the Bluesky social network, aiming to provide a TikTok-style video browsing experience within the Bluesky ecosystem.
Videos for Bluesky
Videos for Bluesky, with its descriptive name, is another application built on Bluesky, created by “MszPro,” also known as Hoshida Takiyoshi, an independent developer from Japan. Similar to other video-centric apps, Videos for Bluesky allows users to explore videos shared on the Bluesky social network through vertical scrolling, employing a user interface reminiscent of TikTok, complete with familiar interactive buttons for Likes, Reposts, and Replies.
Live Streaming Services
Explore applications offering live video streaming capabilities within the AT Protocol ecosystem.
Streamplace
Streamplace marks the inaugural live streaming video service built upon the AT Protocol. Recently utilized to broadcast the ATmosphere conference in Seattle, the service delivers a standard streaming experience. It supports high-definition video, live broadcasts, clips, and uploads. Notably, all video content is cryptographically signed by creators, respecting their specified consent preferences, and is based on the same public key infrastructure as decentralized social networks.
Founded by Eli Mallon, Streamplace initially secured backing from his former employer, Livepeer, another decentralized video platform that managed a crypto treasury investing in external projects. This initial support facilitated Streamplace’s launch. Mallon now recognizes the potential in developing a technology that could appeal to content creators, such as Twitch streamers, who might prefer to directly connect with their audience via their own applications or websites, rather than sharing revenue with platforms like Amazon-owned Twitch.
Feed Builders
Discover tools designed to create and customize social media feeds using the AT Protocol.
Graze
Graze is a startup focused on simplifying the process of building, customizing, publishing, and managing Bluesky feeds. It also aims to enable monetization through advertisements, sponsored posts, and subscription models in the future. Graze integrates with Bluesky’s firehose, referred to as Jetstream, which encompasses all public posts on the social network, allowing for comprehensive feed curation.
Surf
Surf, the latest application from Flipboard, enables users to construct personalized feeds sourced from across the open web. This includes not only Bluesky but also Mastodon, RSS feeds, and more. Users can combine news articles, blog content, podcasts, and YouTube channels into custom feeds within Surf, alongside social media posts. Surf facilitates browsing these custom feeds, as well as feeds created by the wider community, across various topics and interests. Currently in private beta testing, a signup list is publicly accessible for those interested in joining.
SkyFeed
SkyFeed, a web-based client for Bluesky reminiscent of TweetDeck, allows users to establish a dashboard composed of feeds and profiles. However, SkyFeed’s user base is primarily drawn to its user-friendly functionality for creating custom feeds, even for individuals without coding expertise, utilizing lists or regular expressions.
Communication / Social Discovery
Explore applications for communication and social connection within the AT Protocol network.
Germ
Germ’s central concept extends beyond functioning as a messaging application similar to Signal; it intends to establish a social platform facilitating discovery and connection for varied purposes, including marketplace transactions, dating, and general social networking. A key aspect is user control over shared data, with the option to revoke sharing permissions at any point.
Germ currently functions as an end-to-end encrypted messenger available for download from the App Store. It allows users to create and manage multiple identities. Furthermore, Germ utilizes Apple’s App Clips technology, enabling users to initiate conversations with others even if they do not have the application installed, providing a streamlined app experience before downloading the full version from the App Store.
Germ was founded by writer and Stanford lecturer Tessa Brown (CEO) and former Apple privacy engineer Mark Xue (CTO). The development team is currently working on Bluesky integration to enable secure communication with Bluesky contacts.
Roomy
Roomy, a peer-to-peer messaging application developed on the AT Protocol, shares similarities with Discord, but utilizes open standards. For example, ATProto is utilized for social discovery purposes, while Automerge is employed for peer-to-peer discovery. The application is supported by funding from Skyseed and is presently in alpha testing.
Users can log into Roomy using their Bluesky account credentials and send direct messages to other users for private chats. Messages are encrypted; however, as this is an experimental project without security audits, users should exercise caution. Additionally, some unencrypted metadata, while not revealing message content, does indicate communication partners. Therefore, Roomy is not yet a replacement for established secure messaging applications like Signal.
Social Trends Analysis
Discover tools for analyzing and understanding trending topics on decentralized social networks.
Dazzle.fm
Dazzle.fm, founded by former Stability AI engineer John Sabath, is a website designed to interpret the vast data stream from Bluesky and categorize it to identify trends across diverse subjects. While current discourse on Bluesky frequently leans towards political topics, Dazzle assists in discovering other prevalent conversations and themes.
Dazzle allows users to customize the site’s focus according to their interests. For instance, users can specify a topic while excluding posts containing political discussions. This enables users to tailor their experience to local news, excluding national politics, or prioritize content with a positive sentiment.
The envisioned functionality includes switching between these varied modes, generated using artificial intelligence, without manual custom feed creation. Users can input their desired content parameters, including exclusions, within a chat-style interface, prompting Dazzle to dynamically reconfigure and present posts aligning with the specified “vibe.”
Sill
Sill, a link aggregation service, enables users to monitor trending discussions across alternative social media platforms like Bluesky and Mastodon in a consolidated view. Sill is comparable to Nuzzel, a startup previously acquired by Twitter as part of its Scroll acquisition in 2021, which was subsequently integrated into the Twitter application. Nuzzel, popular among news enthusiasts, aided users in tracking trending topics and shared content within their Twitter networks.
Sill is also among the early adopters implementing Bluesky’s OAuth for the AT Protocol, instead of traditional app passwords, simplifying login processes. Once connected, users can view the most frequently shared links across their networks and related conversations.
Frontpage
Frontpage, a decentralized and federated link aggregator developed on ATProto, presents a straightforward interface for organizing and upvoting noteworthy posts and links circulating across the social network. It also supports functionalities for commenting and notifications, fostering community interaction around shared content.
Alternative Bluesky Clients
Explore alternative applications designed to access and interact with the Bluesky social network.
Skeets
Skeets, also by Vogelsang, serves as an alternative to the primary Bluesky application. It is designed with accessibility in mind and optimized for effective use on both iPhones and iPads, offering a streamlined Bluesky experience.
Deck.blue
Deck.blue, another web-based application in the style of TweetDeck, allows users to customize their screen display with columns featuring their Home feed, Notifications, custom feeds, lists, and other categories. The application also includes support for managing multiple accounts and scheduling posts for future publication.
Event Management
Discover applications for event organization and RSVP management within the decentralized social ecosystem.
Smoke Signal
Smoke Signal functions as an event and RSVP management system. It represents a Bluesky-centric alternative to platforms such as Eventbrite or Facebook Events. Built on the ATProtocol and supporting OAuth, Smoke Signal empowers users to discover communities, create events, manage RSVPs, and retain control over their personal data within the event planning context.
Blogging Platforms
Explore blogging services that integrate with the AT Protocol for decentralized content publishing.
White Wind
White Wind provides a Markdown-based blogging service for the AT Protocol. It enables users to log in using their ATProto account and compose content in Markdown format. The service offers tools for image uploads, post previews, and other functionalities, with all data securely stored within the user’s ATProto account’s PDS (personal data service). Blog posts automatically incorporate replies from Bluesky, creating an integrated content experience.
Analytics Tools
Discover analytics tools for monitoring and understanding trends within the Bluesky and AT Protocol ecosystem.
BlueSkyHunter
BlueSkyHunter primarily functions as a growth and analytics toolkit tailored for Bluesky. It also provides mechanisms to identify trending topics on the social network. A feature within the application, “Viral Posts,” highlights popular content, aiding content strategists in identifying current trends, memes, or templates that are resonating with users for potential adaptation.
Fedica
Fedica offers an online dashboard facilitating the composition and scheduling of posts across multiple social networks, including Bluesky, Threads, X, Mastodon, and Pixelfed, among others. It extends support to established social media applications such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube. Subscription plans include a range of features for social listening, tools to track hashtags, keywords, and post reach, as well as functionalities for follower analysis and engagement metrics.