Bluesky Launches Privacy-First Friend-Finding Feature
Bluesky is rolling out its highly anticipated Find Friends feature, designed to help users discover people they already know—without compromising privacy. Unlike other social platforms, Bluesky emphasizes that no one can search for you unless both parties opt in. This update addresses a long-standing gap in the platform, making friend discovery seamless and secure for mobile users in select countries.
How Find Friends Protects Your Privacy
At the core of Bluesky’s new system is a privacy-first design. Users must verify their phone numbers and upload their contacts to enable the feature. Importantly, matching only occurs if the person in your contacts has also opted in. This means coworkers or strangers cannot secretly locate your account. Bluesky positions this approach as a safer alternative to “poorly implemented or abused” systems on rival platforms.
Two-Way Opt-In Ensures Control
The two-way opt-in is central to Bluesky’s privacy promise. You will only appear as a match if both you and your contact have uploaded each other’s information. If you choose not to participate, you remain invisible to the system entirely. This mechanism guarantees that your network connections are consensual, preventing unwanted exposure or spam from unknown users.
Verified Numbers Stop Bad Actors
Bluesky requires phone number verification before any matching can occur. This step is crucial to block malicious actors from uploading random contacts or scraping user data. By confirming ownership of a number, the platform reduces the risk of fake accounts or unsolicited connections, ensuring that only legitimate users are part of the friend-finding process.
Encrypted Contact Storage for Extra Security
Bluesky takes security a step further with hashed contact pairs, combining your number with each contact’s number to make data nearly impossible to reverse-engineer. The encryption keys are stored separately on hardware security devices, ensuring that even if a breach occurs, user data remains protected. Users also retain full control, able to delete contacts or opt out at any time.
Availability Across Multiple Countries
Initially, Find Friends is available for mobile app users in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and the US. Bluesky plans to expand availability as the feature matures, promising a wider rollout for global users.
Why This Matters for Social Networking
Bluesky’s approach highlights a shift toward privacy-conscious social networking, where users control who can find them. Unlike traditional networks that often prioritize growth over consent, Bluesky balances convenience with user security. This could set a new standard for how social apps handle sensitive contact data.
With Find Friends, Bluesky combines familiar social features with robust privacy measures, offering a secure way to connect with known contacts. The platform’s insistence on verification, encryption, and opt-in participation underscores a broader industry trend toward trust-first networking, potentially appealing to users frustrated by invasive friend-finding practices on other platforms.
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