How to Chat on Bluesky

Just like scheduling Bluesky posts, you can now chat on Bluesky just the way you chat on other social media platforms like Facebook, X, etc. Read on to discover how to send a DM on Bluesky...

Apart from tagging a friend or editing your posts, Bluesky now lets you send a Direct message  to other users on the platform. Many people have been asking for this DM feature since 2023. There are lots of other awesome things you can do on Bluesky.

At the moment, you can send text messages and Bluesky is currently working on adding support for messages with images and video, too. 

How to Chat on Bluesky 

To chat on Bluesky, open your account and tap on the Chat icon located at the bottom of your screen on mobile or you select the chat button in your sidebar if you're using a desktop. 

Click on New Chat. 

Once you click on the new chat option, search for the friend or user you want to chat with, type your message, and click the SEND button. 

Don't forget that direct messages on Bluesky aren’t end-to-end encrypted for now, but the platform plans on supporting it in the future. Also, you can now see unfollow you on Bluesky.

Who Can Message You on Bluesky

By default, anyone that follows you on Bluesky can chat with you or send you a DM. 

But if you don't want it that way, you can change this setting by going to the settings menu and selecting “Everyone,” “No one,” or “Users I follow.”

DM Notifications 

You receive a notification each time a user sends you a DM or replies to your message. Depending on your notification settings, you will receive a pop-up notification, or see a red dot appearing ontop of the Chat button,

You can also select whether to allow or disable message notification sounds.

Bluesky allows you to report Chats and block users from within your inbox. Once you block someone, he or she won’t be able to chat you, but muted ones can. 

The platform says that the Bluesky moderation team “may need to open your Chats to investigate broader patterns of abuse, such as spam or coordinated harassment,” but “access is extremely limited and tracked internally.”

Since it dropped its invite system in February, Bluesky has been gradually adding new features. Now, you can upload a 90-second video, send DMs, schedule posts, use hashtags, tag a friend to posts and threads, share links, see who unfollow you, reply to comments and see who block you.

Also, the company started letting users host their own servers and even open-sourced its content moderation tool.