In breaking news, Bluesky just declared that they are voluntarily pausing service in one state. The company’s primary objection to the new law on age assurance is that it is invasive and resource-intensive. The company has a longstanding commitment to privacy and security. They maintain that complying with the law would burden their tiny staff. In the meantime, Bounce, a new tool developed by A New Social, aims to facilitate account migration between Bluesky and Mastodon, appealing particularly to early adopters and open web enthusiasts.
The new age assurance law will force social media companies to take radical steps to verify users’ ages. Bluesky’s leadership has raised concerns that adhering to these regulations would require significant resources that are not feasible for the company. In response, Bluesky has chosen to block its service in the affected state. They don’t hesitate to draw the line when it comes to the user privacy values that they hold sacred.
By comparison, Mastodon users can easily move their accounts from one Mastodon server to another. This flexibility gives users the power to stay on the decentralized, open-source networks they prefer, while following their friends and family anywhere they decide to go. Bounce operates on cutting-edge technology developed for Bridgy Fed. It indeed makes it super easy to move accounts from Bluesky over to Mastodon or Pixelfed, but it doesn’t allow users to transfer accounts back from Mastodon to Bluesky… yet.
Bridgy Fed is a service that links users’ profiles on different social media platforms. It improves discoverability across the ecosystems of Mastodon and Bluesky. Bounce’s user-friendly introduction moves the needle greatly for decentralized social media, and we’re thrilled to welcome them into our ecosystem. It increases user control and enhances their options. The beta version of Bounce will be available starting Monday, allowing users to experiment with its features and provide feedback.
A New Social, the nonprofit organization responsible for both Bounce and Bridgy Fed, emphasizes its mission to empower individuals within the open web ecosystem. By focusing on tools that promote interoperability between different social media platforms, A New Social continues to advocate for user control and privacy.
At launch, Bounce will enable users to migrate from Bluesky to Mastodon or Pixelfed, offering a pathway for those seeking alternatives outside of Bluesky’s services. As of now, users have no way of migrating their accounts from Mastodon back to Bluesky. This high bar could leave applicants out in the cold who wish to do further research on their options before finalizing their application.
First, it is worth emphasizing that Bluesky has built their network on the AT Protocol, which is distinct from Mastodon’s ActivityPub Protocol. This added complexity deepens the already complicated migration process and shines a light on the difficult work that goes into producing seamless, interoperable experiences across different platforms.
