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Social network Bluesky is rolling out a new version of its software, which adopts some of the features former X users have missed. Nope, it’s not an edit button! Instead, the open social network is adding support for chat reactions in its direct messages feature and is revamping its search page as “Explore,” directing users to trends, suggested accounts, Starter Packs, and more.
The features both take inspiration from X, which has let users react to direct messages with an emoji since 2020. X expanded the feature a few years later, allowing users to choose any emoji beyond the default set.
Bluesky is now offering the same, as users can now click on the emoji button next to a person’s message to add a reaction. In the initial pop-up, a handful of common emojis like the heart, thumbs up, eyes, sad face, and a laughing face are available. However, users can click on the three-dot menu to select any other emoji as their reaction, similar to what they can do in X.
Notably, the Bluesky search page is becoming more useful with the new release, as it now helps connect users to what’s trending on the network. A feature like this may not have made as much sense when Bluesky was smaller, but with a now sizable user base of over 34 million users, it’s easier to spot trends surfacing among the many discussions on the platform.
For instance, some of the trends today are linked to timely events, like Trump’s tariffs and their impact, while others point to popular communities on Bluesky, like the readers on BookSky. The trends are also marked with labels like “New” or “Hot” or how long ago they began trending, like “5h ago.”
In addition, the new Explore page lets users enter their own interests to better personalize the content shown to them on Bluesky. It also offers suggestions of accounts to follow within different categories, like Art, Sports, Music, Comics, Politics, Science, News, Animals, Books, Video Games, and others.
Below this, the app suggests interesting Starter Packs — or, curated lists of users that newcomers can follow with a click — as well as suggestions of other popular custom feeds, like NFL+, which connects users to those talking about American football on Bluesky.
Earlier this week, Bluesky CTO Paul Frazee credited the company’s recent hire of Darrin Loeliger for the updated Explore page, saying he showed the team “the upside of hiring a designer.”
Though smaller additions, these new updates could make former X users feel more comfortable when they join Bluesky, as they’ll have access to similar tools to engage with friends and discover discussions, people, and interests.
