40 Million and Rising: Bluesky Takes Flight with ‘Dislikes’ and a Smarter Feed
Standfirst: The decentralised social network is adding a “dislike” button. But not to fuel outrage. It’s part of a broader plan to clean up feeds, calm tempers and keep conversations genuine.
For a social platform born as a gentler alternative to Twitter, Bluesky has spent much of the past month wrestling with the same problems that drove users to leave X in the first place. This week, the company announced it has reached 40 million users and will soon begin testing a “dislikes” feature — not to stoke arguments, but to personalise what appears in each user’s feed.
As TechCrunch reports, the beta test will use dislikes as a feedback signal to train recommendation models. When users downvote posts, the platform learns what kind of content they want less of. The change will influence not only how posts are ranked in the main Discover feed, but also which replies are surfaced in conversations.
Bluesky says the goal is to make the app “a place for more fun, genuine and respectful exchanges”, a statement that comes after weeks of unrest over moderation policy.
The network’s decentralised structure allows users to manage their own moderation through lists, filters and block tools, but some have called for the platform itself to take stronger action against harassment and misinformation.
Instead, Bluesky is doubling down on user control. It already supports custom moderation lists, content filters, muted words and the option to subscribe to third-party moderation providers. Users can also “detach” quote posts, a move designed to discourage the culture of public dunking that once defined Twitter.
Mapping social “neighbourhoods”
Beyond dislikes, Bluesky is reworking how conversations are ranked. Its engineers are testing an algorithm that maps out what it calls social neighbourhoods, clusters of users who interact most often. Replies and threads from people in your neighbourhood will be prioritised, helping discussions feel more relevant and less chaotic.
That’s an area where competitors like Threads have struggled. As writer Max Read pointed out last year, Threads often dropped users into half-finished conversations with no clear context or connection. Bluesky’s local-first ranking system aims to avoid that confusion as the platform scales.
The network is also improving its ability to detect “toxic, spammy or off-topic” replies and downrank them in search results and notifications. A subtle interface tweak will make the Reply button open the full thread first, encouraging users to read before responding, a small design choice that might cut down on impulsive posting.
A quieter, more deliberate internet
In an era where engagement often means outrage, Bluesky’s approach feels almost quaint. Rather than driving virality, its engineers are building friction; nudges that promote reading, reflection and civility. Whether a dislike button can help create a more respectful social web remains to be seen, but the experiment signals something rare in 2025: a social network that wants its users to slow down.
