Bluesky, the social networking startup now Approaching 10 million users Thanks to the X ban in Brazil, you will Now allows users to share videos. The company announced on Wednesday the launch of a 60-second video on its platform.
Designed as a decentralized version of X (formerly Twitter), Bluesky allows users to post text and images, reply, repost, and message users. However, unlike X, Bluesky allows users to set up their own servers if they so choose, choose their own algorithm, and decide how much they want their content moderated by subscribing to independent moderation services.
With native video support, the network will be able to better compete with other X competitors, including Instagram Threads, the decentralized service Mastodon, and others.
The company notes that videos will autoplay by default, but this can be turned off in settings.
Each post on Bluesky can contain one video, which can also include subtitles. Bluesky says users will be limited to uploading 25 videos or 10GB of videos per day when the feature first launches, though those limits may be adjusted over time.
While the company will ask users to verify their emails to limit video spam, it will allow adult content. However, users will be able to label their videos that contain adult content, so those who don’t want to see it can filter it from their timeline using moderation controls. Bluesky says it processes videos across Hive and Thorn to ensure that videos that require a content warning are processed and that illegal material such as CSAM (child sexual abuse material) is not being shared.
Videos can also be reported for violating community guidelines, which could impact a user’s ability to continue uploading the video, the company warns, if violations are repeated. The company notes that when a post containing a video is deleted, the data will also be completely purged from Bluesky’s infrastructure.
The feature’s launch may have come too late to capitalize on some of the most shareable (or wild!) moments from last night’s US presidential debate, but video support has the potential to make Bluesky a more engaging place to discuss breaking news, politics, pop culture, sports, and more, the company believes.
The video comes after a number of updates to the Bluesky app, which last year included an in-app video and music player that supports third-party content, such as YouTube, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Twitch. This year, the company has been playing more catch-up with X with the launch of DMs (direct messages), a more personalized Discover feed, tools to hide replies, and more. Last month, Bluesky also said it was considering launching something similar to X’s crowdsourced fact-checking feature, Community Notes, as well.
Video uploads will be supported. available The company randomly distributes new content to users in batches until it is fully launched, to ensure that the servers are able to handle the influx of new content.