A beginner’s guide to Bluesky

Experience social media as it should be with Bluesky: the rapidly growing micro-blogging platform that gives you freedom to connect, create, and curate your experience. Joining this growing community of users and creators is simple, and this quick-start guide will help.

First things first – you’ll need to create an account to start sharing on Bluesky. Tap “Create Account” to set up your profile. Fill in your details, like your email address and your birth date, and choose a password. Then, create a personalized username that will be attached before the “.bsky.social” suffix.

Next, you’ll have the option to upload a profile picture or create an avatar to help other users recognize you. Select your interests, such as animals, art, food, or movies, to customize your feed. Once you’re finished, tap “Let’s go!” to hop into the Bluesky experience.

Help Bluesky learn more about what you like by interacting with topics and content you enjoy, or following accounts. Your home tab is divided into customizable feeds. You can tap “Discover” at the top of your screen to view more content from users all over the platform, or tap “Following” for a timeline that has content only from profiles you follow.

In the upper-right corner, tap the hashtag icon to customize your timeline. You can add feeds like Popular With Friends, Science, Gardening, or Cat Pics by tapping the plus icon next to them. Once added, they’ll appear on your home tab for easy access.

Your profile holds your Bluesky identity, so customize it to reflect your personality. Tap the profile icon in the navigation bar and then "Edit Profile” to update your header and profile photos, display name, or bio. Your profile tab also shows you an overview of your content by category, like Posts, Replies, Media, and Likes.

Tap the pencil icon in the bottom-right corner to set up your first post. Share your thoughts with a quick text post of up to 300 characters, or add media by tapping any of the icons in the bottom-left corner. If you’d like to create a thread of multiple posts at once, tap the plus icon to add to your thread. Once you’re happy with the content, tap “Post.”

Tap the message icon on the navigation bar to access your inbox and connect with other users directly. Select the plus icon in the bottom-right icon to start a new chat, and then type in the username of the person you want to message. You can also tap the message icon on another user’s profile to start a chat with them.

In the top-right corner of your inbox tab, tap the settings icon to set your chat preferences. Here you can choose who can send you new messages – everyone, only users you follow, or no one. You can also toggle notification sounds from this menu.

Never miss a beat in your Bluesky community with notifications. Tap the bell icon in the navigation bar to check in on your interactions. Your notifications tab is organized by category, so you can tap “All” to view notifications of every kind, including likes on your posts, replies, and new followers. To easily find replies and conversations where you’ve been tagged, just head to the Mentions section.

Bluesky wants to bring back the fun in social media by making it easier for you to curate your feeds and own your data and your relationship with your communities, all while expressing yourself. It’s a space for creativity and freedom, so don’t be afraid to take flight, because on Bluesky, the sky’s the limit.