# Bluesky Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/bluesky/ 180 people recommended Bluesky in Hacker News comments, 103 had mixed feelings and 347 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 12 months, in 108 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule. **Verdict:** More people criticize it than recommend it, seeing a left-leaning echo chamber and a risk of centralization; those who recommend it cite a Twitter-style network on an open protocol with portable data, custom feeds and other clients. Summary written by Claude from the comments below. Claude agents reviewed it against the quotes on 2 Nov 2026. ## What people warn about - Still centralized, VC-funded risk (5 comments in the sample): "Bluesky's dependence on VC money and for-profit structure means it has a conflict of interest with long-term survival and independence of the protocol." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48607325)) "When Bluesky goes rogue because of profitability issues or VC pressure, the vast vast majority of users lose their identities on the wider network." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48621773)) "Locking knowledge into a benignly-ruled centralised blackbox instead of a despicably-ruled centralised blackbox isn't solving the core problem." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49584135)) - Insular, hostile community at times (2 comments in the sample): "BlueSky for me is a mix of people who are trying their hardest in my city to make improvements but also creating a very insular…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45891753)) "Bluesky does offer a chronological feed, but the well-intentioned blocklists just became the chief tool for the mean girls of the site." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46070758)) - Politically one-sided reputation (1 comment in the sample): "Bluesky has been shrinking gradually since the 2024 election, as people interested in political effectiveness or even avoiding a hugbox have drifted away" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46939254)) ## Why people recommend it - Open protocol, portable data (7 comments in the sample): "Bsky is designed so that the microservices themselves can be decentralized and so multiple different types of apps can be built on the same protocol/infra." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46759623)) "Every app can "see" the entire network (unlike in ActivityPub) so there's a lot less motivation to create these fragmented views into it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48932956)) "Bluesky is architected so you can export your data and follows and followers to your own or someone else's infrastructure at any time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47095883)) - Chronological and custom feeds (4 comments in the sample): "The default tab on Bluesky is a chronological feed from just the people you follow, with no algorithm, just how most people want it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49269691)) "a non-attention hacking algorithm is super, super nice because it helps cut out crap and show content in the niches I care about" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49643827)) "On Bluesky/ATProto, I am free to chose my own algorithm or my own client software and affiliate with the people I want to." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49712072)) - Better discussion and community (3 comments in the sample): "I find Bluesky really far more interested in good engagement and discussion, better at looking for signal than anywhere else." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46480762)) "Not arguing that Bluesky is wildly successful, with stagnating growth etc but as with fediverse, many have found community there as well" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48863864)) "It's a good place for me for posting photos and links but I have an absolute policy against following anyone who says anything about politics" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46479989)) - Fine-grained filtering and reply controls (1 comment in the sample): "you can limit who can reply to posts (to followers, people who follow you, people you've mentioned, or only to yourself" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45812752)) ## Other social networks people recommend - [Mastodon](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mastodon/): 201 recommend, 56 mixed, 202 criticize - [X (formerly Twitter)](https://hackerapproved.com/p/x/): 119 recommend, 102 mixed, 920 criticize - [Instagram](https://hackerapproved.com/p/instagram/): 79 recommend, 111 mixed, 666 criticize - [Facebook](https://hackerapproved.com/p/facebook/): 70 recommend, 166 mixed, 1260 criticize ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://bsky.app/) ## The badge A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged. ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Bluesky", https://hackerapproved.com/p/bluesky/ (180 recommend, 103 mixed, 347 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026). Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.