Social networking platform Bluesky has announced that it has surpassed 40 million users, marking a major milestone for the decentralized network.

Alongside this growth, the company revealed plans to roll out a new “dislikes” beta feature, aimed at improving personalization and user experience on its Discover feed and beyond.

The update comes as part of a broader effort by Bluesky to refine conversation controls and promote more authentic, respectful engagement among users.

The new “dislikes” feature will allow users to indicate posts they want to see less of, helping Bluesky’s algorithm tailor feeds to individual preferences. The platform explained that the feature won’t just impact feed ranking—it will also influence reply visibility, shaping the flow of conversations based on user sentiment.

According to the company, the goal is to make Bluesky “a place for more fun, genuine, and respectful exchanges.” This follows recent criticism from some users over moderation policies, as debates around decentralized moderation continue to divide the platform’s community.

Focus on user-controlled moderation tools

Rather than imposing centralized moderation, Bluesky continues to emphasize user-driven controls. These include:

Moderation lists to block groups of users,
Content filter controls and muted words,
Subscription to external moderation providers, and
The option to detach quote posts to reduce unwanted attention.

These tools aim to give users the flexibility to shape their own social experience—contrasting with platforms like X (formerly Twitter), where moderation decisions are more top-down.

Mapping ‘social neighborhoods’ for better conversations

In addition to “dislikes,” Bluesky is experimenting with new ranking models, design improvements, and conversation feedback tools. One of its most anticipated updates is the “social neighborhoods” feature—an algorithmic model that maps out users who frequently interact and reply to one another.

By prioritizing replies from people “closer to your neighborhood,” Bluesky hopes to make conversations more relevant and easier to follow—addressing one of the biggest user complaints about platforms like Threads, where conversation flow often feels disjointed.

The company also revealed advancements in detecting and downranking toxic, spammy, or bad-faith replies across threads, search results, and notifications. A key interface change now ensures that tapping the Reply button takes users to the full thread before composing a response.

This adjustment, Bluesky says, encourages thoughtful engagement and helps “reduce content collapse and redundant replies”—a frequent criticism of rival platforms.

Furthermore, reply control settings will soon become more visible, allowing users to decide who can respond to their posts directly from the main interface.