It was only a matter of time following the platform’s massive growth – it seems that a paid tier of social media platform Bluesky will soon be upon us.
Although it has previously been revealed that a subscription model is in the works, mockups of a potential user interface for the Bluesky+ service have now surfaced after code was made available by an engineer at the company on the bluesky-social GitHub account.
The poster has confirmed that the features may change ahead of launch, but they currently include the likes of higher video upload limits, profile customizations, and individual post analytics.
Bluesky’s Thinking
The GitHub entry titled ‘[Subs] Draft #6977’ was posted by Eric Bailey, who is described on LinkedIn as an Engineer at Bluesky. It contains code for a potential user interface, that was then unofficially rendered by a Bluesky user.
The render shows that the working name of the paid subscription tier is Bluesky+ and suggests that signing up will give access to the following exclusive features:
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- Bluesky+ profile badge
- Custom app icons
- Profile customizations
- Higher video upload limits
- High quality video resolution
- Inline post translations
- Post analytics
- Bookmark folders
The last three entries on that list say that they are coming soon, so it’s unlikely that they will be available when Bluesky+ initially rolls out.
Bluesky Previews: subscriptions
— rea (@saeri.xyz) 6 December 2024 at 16:23
‘Always Be Free to Use’
Bailey’s original post makes it clear that none of these are confirmed features.
“The list of features here is a UI mockup and will likely not match the actual list of features.” – Eric Bailey, Bluesky
But there’s no doubt that Bluesky will introduce a paid tier. It confirmed in a blog post in October that the company was in the process of securing funds to allow it to “begin developing a subscription model for features like higher quality video uploads or profile customizations like colors and avatar frames.”
It said that monetizing the product through subscriptions would enable the platform to ensure that independent tools like the Smoke Signal events app, Frontpage web forum, and Bluecast audio service can continue to grow.
It also confirmed that, despite the imminent introduction of the subscription model, Bluesky will always be free to use to those people who do not need the extra features provided by Bluesky+.
The Great X Exodus
One thing that the platform says it won’t do, however, is fill users’ feeds with posts created by people who have paid for a Blueky+ subscription.
“We won’t uprank accounts simply because they’re subscribing to a paid tier,” said the aforementioned blog post.
That’s in stark contrast to X’s protocol to give greater visibility to users who have paid for its blue tick – one of the many ways that former (and current) users have said that X/Twitter is worse under Elon Musk.
The Bluesky membership user base surged to more than 10 million when X was banned in Brazil for its alleged practice of the crimes of obstruction of justice, criminal organization, and incitement to crime.
That ramped up in even greater numbers when X users left for Bluesky after the US Election and Musk’s rampant support for Donald Trump.
