Bluesky has grown to over 40 million users, but most people sign up, follow a few accounts, and never dig deeper. That's understandable — on the surface it looks like a straightforward social feed. Underneath, though, Bluesky is built on the AT Protocol: an open, extensible standard that unlocks features you simply won't find on Twitter, Instagram, or Threads. Here are five things worth knowing.
The 5 Features
Use Your Own Domain as Your Handle
On most platforms your username is a random string assigned by the service. On Bluesky you can use any domain you own as your handle. Instead of @yourname.bsky.social, you can be @yourname.com or even @yourname.studio.
To set it up: go to Settings → Handle → "I have my own domain." Bluesky will give you a TXT record to add to your domain's DNS. Once it propagates (usually a few minutes), your new handle is live and permanently tied to your decentralised identity — not to Bluesky's servers.
This matters because your identity becomes portable. Even if Bluesky shut down tomorrow, your handle tied to your domain would work on any other AT Protocol platform. No platform can take your identity away.
Choose Your Own Algorithm — or Use None at All
This is the feature that most surprises people coming from Twitter. Bluesky has no single algorithm deciding what you see. Instead, it has Custom Feeds — openly published, subscribable feeds built by anyone in the community.
You can subscribe to feeds like "What's Hot," "Trending Images," "Science," "New to Bluesky," or hundreds of community-specific feeds covering everything from football to pixel art. Alternatively, just use the default Following feed, which is a pure chronological stream of the accounts you follow — no ranking, no sponsored posts injected, no engagement manipulation.
To browse feeds: tap the grid icon in the Bluesky app or go to the Feeds tab on web. Pin up to 20 feeds to your home screen. You can also build your own feed using the AT Protocol's open feed generator spec.
Build and Share Starter Packs
One of the most underused features on Bluesky is Starter Packs — curated bundles of accounts and feeds that you can share with a single link. When someone taps your Starter Pack link, they can follow all the included accounts and subscribe to all the included feeds in one click.
This is incredibly powerful for community building, event onboarding, or just helping a friend get set up quickly. Journalists share media starter packs. Scientists share research community packs. Conference organisers share speaker packs. Starter Packs have driven some of the fastest community growth on the platform.
To create one: go to your profile → tap the menu → "Create Starter Pack." Add up to 50 accounts and 3 feeds. Share the link anywhere.
Control Who Can Reply with Thread Gates
Ever posted something and immediately regretted the replies? Bluesky's Thread Gates let you decide who can respond before you even hit post — or retroactively on any existing post.
Your options: allow replies from everyone, only from accounts you follow, only from accounts you mention in the post, or nobody at all (great for announcements where you just want people to read, not pile on). Unlike Twitter's equivalent feature — which was limited, inconsistent, and sometimes broken — Bluesky's thread gates are enforced at the protocol level.
To set a gate: tap the three-dot menu on any post → "Edit interaction settings." You can also set the default for all new posts in Settings → Privacy.
Save and Download Any Public Post's Media
Bluesky still has no native download button for videos or images. If you find a video you want to save — a clip, a short film, a meme — there is no option inside the app to grab it. This is one of the most-requested missing features on the platform.
The workaround is BskySuite. Copy the link to any public Bluesky post, paste it into BskySuite's downloader, and you'll get the original-quality file — video in MP4, images in full resolution JPEG/PNG — delivered directly to your device with no watermarks and no sign-up required. It works on desktop and mobile browsers equally well.
It's the easiest way to save the content you discover on Bluesky before it disappears from your feed.
💡 Bonus tip: Bluesky supports rich link previews, GIF posts, and alt text on every image — features that are baked in rather than bolted on. Add alt text to your images in the post composer: it improves accessibility and can help your posts rank better in search.
Why These Features Matter
Each of these five features reflects a deliberate design choice: put the user in control. Custom domain handles give you ownership of your identity. Custom feeds give you ownership of your attention. Starter Packs give you tools to grow communities on your terms. Thread Gates give you control over your conversations. And tools like BskySuite fill in the gaps Bluesky hasn't yet built natively.
Bluesky is still a young platform and new features ship regularly. But the foundation — the open, decentralised AT Protocol — means that the tools being built around Bluesky are structurally more powerful than anything that could exist on a closed platform. The five features above are just the beginning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use my own domain as my Bluesky handle?
Yes. Go to Settings → Handle → "I have my own domain" and add the verification TXT record to your DNS. Your handle becomes @yourdomain.com.
Are custom feeds on Bluesky free?
Subscribing to and using any custom feed is free. Building a feed generator requires hosting a small server, but the tooling is open source and there are free hosting options available.
What is a Bluesky Starter Pack?
A curated list of accounts and feeds bundled into a shareable link. When someone taps the link, they can follow everything in the pack in a single tap.
How do thread gates work on Bluesky?
On any post, tap the three-dot menu → "Edit interaction settings." You can restrict replies to: everyone, accounts you follow, mentioned accounts only, or no one. Changes take effect immediately.
How do I download a Bluesky video or image to my phone?
Copy the post link from the three-dot menu, visit bskysuite.com, paste the link, and download. Works on iOS and Android browsers with no app install needed.
📥 Found a post worth keeping?
Download it with BskySuite — original quality, no watermarks, no account needed. Works for videos and images.
Try BskySuite Free →