I’ve been a Twitter (now X) user for almost a decade, but I recently installed Bluesky on my device and I think it will be my next there are seven options. I recommend you change immediately if you make the change.

Change dark mode settings

By default, Bluesky’s color palette is set to match the system settings. This means that if your the smartphone is set to dark modeBluesky will also appear in dark mode.

However, I prefer to keep my smartphone in dark mode while using apps in light mode. That’s why the first thing I did after setting up Bluesky on my phone was to change the color palette.

If you want to change Bluesky’s color scheme, tap the hamburger icon in the upper left corner and select “Settings” from the menu. In the Settings menu, go to “Appearance” in the Basic section. From there, you can choose your preferred color mode and theme. If you select the dark scheme, you will also have the option to choose between Dim and Dark themes.

Additionally, in the Appearance menu, you can customize the theme and font size as you like.

Adjust moderation settings

I often give my smartphone to my younger brother and I really don’t want him to be exposed to adult content or language when viewing my Bluesky account. To avoid this, I adjusted the moderation settings on Bluesky.

To hide adult content on Bluesky, go to the “Moderation” option in the Settings menu and tap the “Enable adult content” toggle. Then, under the Non-Sexual Nudity option, select “Hide.”

In the future, if you want to enable adult content on Bluesky, you will need to do so via the web. Open Bluesky on your desktopselect “Settings” from the left sidebar, navigate to “Moderation” and enable the “Enable adult content” button.

To ensure that Bluesky doesn’t display words or tags that you don’t want to appear on your account, go to the “Hidden words and tags” option in the moderation window. Enter the words or tags you want to block, set the duration you want them to be disabled and press the “Add” button.

If you later decide to remove hidden words from the list, open the “Hidden words and tags” option and tap the cross icon next to the word you want to re-enable. This will allow you to review these words.

Fix sort order of chats

I always thought that the more likes an answer gets, the more interesting it is. However, by default, when you view a thread on Bluesky, the platform shows you the oldest reply in the thread first. Since I prefer to read replies with the most likes, I changed the thread preference settings to show the most liked replies first.

To update your thread preference settings, open Settings and go to “Thread Preferences”. This may be under a “Content & Media” option, depending on your device. Now select “Most Liked Answers First” in the Sort Answers section, or in whatever sort order you want.

Additionally, if you want more Reddit-like experience When browsing threads on Bluesky, you can enable the “Thread Mode” toggle, which is an experimental feature at the time of writing.

Choose who can message you

Just like most social media apps, Bluesky allows you to configure who can contact you via messages on the platform. Since I often receive collaboration requests from different companies, I set this option to “Everyone”, which means that anyone with a Bluesky account can contact me.

However, if you prefer that only your followers can message you, go to the Settings menu, select “Chat Settings” and choose “Users I Follow.”

iPhone users need to open “Chat” from the hamburger menu and tap the “Filter” button at the top right to find this option.

Configure app passwords

Application passwords are one of the the most interesting features on Bluesky. These are per-app passwords that allow you to integrate platforms like SkyFeedbuilt by the Bluesky community, into the platform.

To use app passwords, go to the Settings menu and select “Application Passwords”. Depending on your device, this option may be under “Privacy & Security.” Next, tap “Add app password”.

Enter a name for your application password. You should choose a name that makes it easy to identify the application for which the password is intended. You will also see a “Allow access to your direct messages” checkbox. I recommend leaving this box unchecked because if the app with this permission is compromised or hacked, an unauthorized person could access your personal messages. Once done, click on the “Create app password” button.

On the next screen, you will see a unique app password. Simply copy the password and paste it into the login page of the third-party Bluesky client, like SkyFeed, that you want to use.

Using application passwords ensures that you do not need to enter your primary Bluesky password when connecting to third-party clients. You will only need to provide your Bluesky username or email address and the generated app password to log in.

Adjust content language settings

Bluesky supports a wide range of languages. This means that regardless of your native language, you can easily use the app. However, the added benefit of using Bluesky is the content language settings.

This feature allows you to configure the languages ​​you want to include in your subscribed feeds. By default, it is set to English and French. Hindi being my native language, I have configured the settings to English and Hindi.

You can customize the content language settings to your preferences by selecting “Languages” from the Settings menu. Next, tap the selected language under Content languages. Choose your preferred languages ​​and press the “Done” button.

Enable 2FA

Activation two-factor authentication is one of the most important security measures you can take these days. This requires you to enter a special code received through the selected method to log in to your account, preventing others from logging in even if they know your password.

Bluesky supports two-factor authentication via email. This means you will receive the code on your registered email address.

To enable two-factor authentication on Bluesky, enable the “Require an email code to sign in to your account” toggle in the two-factor authentication section. On iPhones, this is found in the “Privacy & Security” settings.

Now, whenever someone tries to log in to Bluesky on another platform, such as desktop, you will receive a two-factor authentication code via email, which you will need to enter to complete the login process.

These are the first changes I’ve made to my Bluesky account, and I suggest everyone take a look at these options to get the app working best for them right away. There are also many other settings on the platform that you can configure according to your preferences.