Be Wary of Bluesky

Be Wary of Bluesky

In 2023, Bluesky's CTO Paul Frazee was asked what would happen if Bluesky ever turned against its users. His answer:

"it would look something like this: bluesky has gone evil. there's a new alternative called freesky that people are rushing to. I'm switching to freesky"

That's the same argument people made about Twitter. "If it goes bad, we'll just leave." We know how that played out.

The promise

Bluesky is built on ATProto, an open protocol. The pitch is simple: your data is yours, your identity is yours, and if you don't like what Bluesky is doing, you can take everything and leave. Apps like Tangled (git hosting), Grain (photos), and Leaflet (publishing) all plug into the same protocol. One account, many apps, no lock-in.

It sounds great. But look closer.

Where your data actually lives

When you use any ATProto app, it writes data to your Personal Data Server, or PDS. Your Bluesky posts, your Tangled issues, your Leaflet publications, your Grain photos. All of it goes to the same place.

For almost every user, that place is a server run by Bluesky.

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