Bluesky is introducing 'communities' feature built on the AT Protocol, allowing users to create smaller spaces with privacy levels and custom feeds, inspired by Reddit.
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<p class="has-text-align-none">Bluesky will be getting "communities," which will function as smaller spaces where you can "go deeper and hang out with people who care about the same stuff" sometime this year, according to head of product Alex Benzer. They will be built on the decentralized AT Protocol that underpins Bluesky, with Benzer saying that "it's a new structure for everyone" that's part of the "Atmosphere" (a shorthand for the AT Protocol ecosystem).</p>
<p class="has-text-align-none">Benzer listed out a "few ideas we have in mind so far" <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/alexbenzer.com/post/3mnxh6mmlxk2k">in a thread</a>. "On Bluesky, you'll be able to create communities, join them, post in them, and get updates," <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/alexbenzer.com/post/3mnxh6mmtrl2k">Benzer says</a>. "The core features on Bluesky stay simpl …</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/948215/bluesky-communities-at-protocol-atmosphere-reddit">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>
# Bluesky is getting ‘communities’
Source: [https://www.theverge.com/tech/948215/bluesky-communities-at-protocol-atmosphere-reddit](https://www.theverge.com/tech/948215/bluesky-communities-at-protocol-atmosphere-reddit)
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Jay Peters
is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more\. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme\.
Bluesky will be getting “communities,” which will function as smaller spaces where you can “go deeper and hang out with people who care about the same stuff” sometime this year, according to head of product Alex Benzer\. They will be built on the decentralized AT Protocol that underpins Bluesky, with Benzer saying that “it’s a new structure for everyone” that’s part of the “Atmosphere” \(a shorthand for the AT Protocol ecosystem\)\.
Benzer listed out a “few ideas we have in mind so far”[in a thread](https://bsky.app/profile/alexbenzer.com/post/3mnxh6mmlxk2k)\. “On Bluesky, you’ll be able to create communities, join them, post in them, and get updates,”[Benzer says](https://bsky.app/profile/alexbenzer.com/post/3mnxh6mmtrl2k)\. “The core features on Bluesky stay simple\. The magic comes from communities also existing on the open web\. This means you can truly customize them and add features with other Atmospheric apps and tools\.”
Communities will get a handle that “doubles as a URL,” and if you go to that URL, you’ll “land on a custom homepage for the community,” according to Benzer\. “Builders can also host a completely custom experience there instead\.” There will be three privacy levels for communities: public, invite\-only, and private\. And each community would have its own feed,[Benzer says](https://bsky.app/profile/alexbenzer.com/post/3mnxovv4ndc2d)\.
Benzer’s thread follows Bluesky COO Rose Wang[saying last week](https://www.theverge.com/tech/943274/bluesky-wants-to-move-away-from-being-a-public-square)that the company wanted to move away from being a “public square” and that it was “very inspired by companies like Reddit\.” Meta’s Threads is[currently testing a communities feature](https://www.theverge.com/news/790436/threads-communities-topics-launch), while X announced[in April](https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/23/x-is-shutting-down-communities-because-of-low-usage-and-lots-of-spam/)that it would be shutting down its own take on communities\.
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- Jay Peters
Decoder podcast interview with new Bluesky CEO Toni Schneider about balancing the Bluesky app with the AT Protocol ecosystem, confronting the 'bubble' reputation, and how the open social web could develop like the early web.
Waag moved their Bluesky data to Eurosky's Personal Data Server to gain greater control over their data and support decentralization, highlighting the importance of digital sovereignty despite Bluesky's centralized tendencies.
Bluesky has published a draft proposal for permissioned data on the AT Protocol, alongside other proposals for user lists, moderation, OAuth, and more, as part of their ongoing development efforts.
This is a Bluesky proposal for adding permissioned (private) data support to the AT Protocol, enabling access control over user data in decentralized social networks.