Bluesky just announced that it’s adding a new video tab to user profiles as part of a software update. This is nothing too crazy. It’s just an easy way for users to easily peruse all of the videos someone has posted, whether it’s original content or stuff pulled from other social networks. It's like the pre-existing "Media" tab, but exclusively for vids.

Engadget/Lawrence Bonk

This is yet another “pivot to video” move by Bluesky. It recently introduced a vertical footage feature on mobile called Trending Videos, which is eerily reminiscent of TikToks, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.

There are also several TikTok rivals being built on top of Bluesky’s AT Protocol, though most are still in closed testing. Even billionaire Mark Cuban wants to get in on the action. All of these upstarts would, of course, receive a much-needed injection of eyeballs if TikTok were to actually be banned, but who knows what’s going on there.

Bluesky update 1.97 isn’t just about the video tab. It also streamlines the process to block folks who pop up in DMs and offers translation improvements.