Bluesky is opening up federation, letting anyone host their own server

Bluesky, the social media platform developed by X/Twitter's ex-co-founder Jack Dorsey, has made an announcement regarding the federation of its network, with a focus on data hosting. The platform's original plan was always to federate with other instances and compatible social networks operating on the AT Protocol, and now, the federation is opening up for data hosting.

Upon registration on Bluesky, the default option is for Bluesky to store user data. However, users now have the option to select another company for data storage, or even host it themselves. Flexibility is a key feature of this update, allowing users to switch their data provider at any time without the loss of existing posts, likes, or follows.

The current version of federation released by Bluesky is primarily intended for self-hosters. According to Bluesky, “there are some guardrails in place to ensure we can keep the network running smoothly for everyone in the ecosystem”. Following this initial phase, Bluesky plans to extend federation to those interested in running larger servers with numerous users.

However, this development does not indicate that Bluesky will federate with Mastodon or other Fediverse services. Built on the AT Protocol, Bluesky operates in a distinctly different manner, and the aim here is to allow people to host their data and switch between servers without losing your username, friends, or posts.