Bluesky may soon get a new blue checkmark verification system, according to changes to the app’s public GitHub repository spotted Friday by reverse engineer alice.mosphere.at.
The blue checks may have a similar look to the system pioneered by Twitter, now X, but Bluesky’s version seems like it will work quite differently.
Bluesky’s blue check system may rely on multiple organizations to distribute blue checks, according to the codebase changes. That suggests Bluesky will actively verify notable accounts, but also label certain organizations as “trusted verifiers,” and give them the authority to directly issue blue checks themselves.
The changes to Bluesky’s verification system may be announced as soon as Monday, according to a blog post link found in Friday’s pull request titled “verification,” which is dated for April 21, 2025.
While Bluesky already lets users verify themselves by tying their accounts to official websites, CEO Jay Graber has hinted the company would try other types of verification. Last year, Graber said Bluesky may experiment with a system where it’s not the only group that can verify users.
The pull request also shows an icon, a blue circle containing a white checkmark, that will appear on verified users’ profiles. Meanwhile, trusted verifiers will have scalloped blue circles containing a white checkmark on their profiles.
An image spotted in Bluesky’s forthcoming announcement suggests The New York Times, and other trusted news publishers, may soon have the ability to verify users in the blue check system. By tapping on a user’s blue check, other users can see which organizations have granted verification, according to the changes.
Bluesky’s approach to verification is a lot different from how X operates its verification services. While X used to distribute blue checks to popular, authentic accounts, Elon Musk decided to overhaul the system and only verifies users who pay a monthly subscription. Musk has since walked back that decision, giving blue checks to some influential users that don’t pay for it, while still allowing other people to pay for it.
Some have argued that X has diluted the value of a blue check on its platform altogether, even allowing some bot accounts to be verified.
Bluesky did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
Bluesky seems to be taking a decentralized approach to verification and by spreading out the decision-making power to several organizations. That could mean a lot of users on Bluesky are getting verified, but it remains to be seen how this approach will work in practice.
