Social platform Bluesky is open-sourcing its moderation tool Ozone, allowing users to choose exactly how the content on their timelines is moderated.
With the introduction of Ozone, Bluesky is allowing individuals and teams to run their own independent moderation services that can be integrated into the Bluesky app. Essentially, people will be able to install filters from these services, giving Bluesky frequenters the ability to create a tailored feed. This will be available in addition to Bluesky's built-in moderation service, alongside its existing community guidelines, each layer being a part of Bluesky's "stackable approach" to moderation.
The app provided the example of a "Spider Shield" filter, which would essentially mean installing a moderation filter that would protect a person's feed from seeing any spiders, if that's something they'd want to prevent. With these filters, you can also "recruit others" who want to screen the same kind of content, building a moderation tool around any niche content together.
Currently, the tool is available on the desktop version of the app and will soon be rolling out to mobile. Ozone has been open-sourced as of yesterday, and the moderation tools can be enabled later this week.
"On an open social network like Bluesky, you can shape your experience for yourself," reads the social platform's blog post. "One team will never be perfect at moderation and curation for the entire world, with its wide variety of contexts, cultures, and preferences. So we’re excited about opening the ecosystem to empower experts, developers, and users with local context to provide their own input that you can additionally subscribe to, on top of Bluesky’s moderation service."
Bluesky previously faced criticism from its community after a number of users with racial slurs in their usernames were allowed to register for the app. The Bluesky team told Mashable that the moderation team took down these accounts, and were "continuing to invest in moderation and support systems" as their platform grew in numbers.
A hot contender for an alternative to X/Twitter, Bluesky was once invite-only but opened up to everyone in February this year. In November 2023, the app hit 2 million users and has since seen its community grow to 5 million strong.
