X’s rival social networking startup Bluesky rolled out a new update to its app on Monday. This includes the recent promised addition to a “followers only” option to limit replies to posts, and includes the “search post” feature. For user profiles.
The former helps distinguish apps from competitors like X and Meta threads, while the latter uses similar features to those added by X (then called Twitter) in 2021.
The new “followers only” option is a welcome addition to many on Bluesky. Because they can limit the conversation to connections of their choice.
This setting is especially useful when content goes viral and attracts attention beyond your normal follower base. In many cases, this can lead to “content collapse.” Here, people who don’t understand the meaning of the original post begin to stir up chimes, messing up and stacking replies. This is a common problem on Twitter/X and Bluesky wants to avoid now.
By comparison, X users can select a set of replies controls, such as “Everyone”, “Accounts You Follow”, “Verified Accounts”, and “Only Accounts to Refer”. You can also post to a specific community that you are a member of. This limits reach.
In the thread, users can select “Anyone”, “Profile to Follow”, and “Only Refer.”
BlueSky users who want to enable new features can adjust the default settings for all future posts in the Settings section of the app under Moderation > (Interaction Settings).
Additionally, the newly added search feature to a user’s profile helps you find a specific post when you know who created it.
To access both new features, the app must be updated to version 1.98. (For the reply option, if the user posts a reply that doesn’t follow you, the reply may run even if the app is not updated either, but will not appear on the original poster. Hmm. ve has enabled “followers only.”
The app update also includes some minor changes, including search and other fixes improvements.