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Community Index: Official Bluesky Accounts to Follow for Feature Updates

UUnknown

2026-02-09

9 min read

A living index of verified Bluesky accounts for official feature updates. Follow bsky.app, verify using DIDs, and contribute verified handles.

Cut through the rumor mill: a living index of verified Bluesky accounts for real feature confirmations

Struggling to find timely, on-the-record Bluesky updates without wading through speculation? This living Community Index gathers official Bluesky handles, product and engineering leads, and trusted verification tactics so you can follow feature rollouts and confirmations fast — and validate them yourself.

Top takeaways (read first)

bsky.app is the official Bluesky product account for release notes and platform announcements.
Use DIDs and profile-linked official domains as cryptographic signals when checking account authenticity.
Set up live monitoring (saved searches, RSS/webhooks, or third-party trackers) to catch feature rollouts early.
This page is a living, community-submitted index. Contribute verified handles and receipts to grow the list.

Why this index matters in 2026

Late 2025 and early 2026 accelerated two trends that made verified-source discovery mission-critical: rapid cross-platform user shifts (Bluesky saw install spikes after controversy on competing networks) and faster, smaller feature rollouts like cashtags and LIVE badges that ship first to power users or limited regions. When feature chatter spreads across clones and bots, a single, curated list of official channels saves time and prevents amplification of false confirmations.

Example: In Jan 2026 Bluesky rolled out cashtags and LIVE streaming badges amid a surge in US installs after a major controversy on another platform. Community-tracked release notes from the official account confirmed the features before broader news coverage.

Seed list — Verified Bluesky accounts to follow (January 2026)

Below are the initial, confirmed official handles and channels that routinely post official product updates and engineering notes. This is intentionally conservative: we list only accounts that link to official Bluesky pages or use verifiable DIDs. Community submissions expand this list — see the contribution section.

Official product & platform channels

bsky.app — Official product handle for release notes, feature rollouts, and policy confirmations. This is the go-to account for on-the-record announcements and verified platform updates.

Why we keep the list short

Platforms evolve quickly and team rosters change. Public-facing product accounts and platform-owned profiles are the clearest authoritative sources. Engineer and PM handles are included in the living list only after community verification (proof of employment link, pinned announcement linking back to the official product account, or a verifiable DID/website tie).

How we verify accounts (the checklist we use)

When a community member suggests a handle for this index, we validate it against the following checklist. You can use the same process to verify any Bluesky account you encounter.

Profile link to official domain: Does the account profile link to an official Bluesky domain (bsky.app or an official company page)?
DID consistency: Does the profile expose a DID that matches the actor entry on the AT Protocol or a linked personal website with DID verification?
Pinned confirmations: Does the account have a pinned post linking to an official announcement (product blog, press release, or platform post)?
Cross-verification: Is the handle linked from the company’s official site, press page, or a known company-owned GitHub/Docs page?
Community receipts: Do multiple trusted community members (engineers, press, or company collaborators) corroborate the handle?

Practical strategies to follow and monitor official Bluesky accounts

Beyond following accounts, use these practical tactics to ensure you catch official confirmations in real time and filter noise.

1. Configure priority notifications

Follow official accounts and enable notifications for posts and replies.
Create a dedicated “Official Updates” list in your client and set that list to higher notification frequency.

2. Use saved searches and cashtags

Saved searches let you track feature keywords (e.g., "cashtags", "LIVE badge", "release").
Include product-specific cashtags and tags once they are officially announced to reduce false positives.

3. Monitor DIDs and PDS changes

In the AT Protocol, accounts are anchored by DIDs and hosted on PDS (Personal Data Servers). Automate checks for DID updates or changes in the actor record to detect account migratory activity or impersonation attempts.

Many Bluesky clients and third-party tools expose RSS versions of profiles or public timelines. Subscribe to the official profile RSS to get updates in an aggregator.
Use webhook relays (via a PDS-aware bridge) to forward official posts to a Slack channel, Discord server, or notification pipeline for your team.

5. Build a lightweight verification automation

For teams: a simple script that polls the public actor endpoint (by DID), checks pinned posts for specific keywords, and verifies that the profile URL matches the official domain will cut verification time from minutes to seconds. If you prefer an ephemeral, sandboxed environment for running verification jobs, consider running checks in ephemeral workspaces to contain credentials and tooling.

How to interpret official signals during a rollout

Not every mention from an official account means a global, immediate rollout. Use this simple decision matrix when you see an official post about a feature:

Announcement + rollout spec: If the post includes rollout details (percent rollout, countries, or A/B test info), treat it as authoritative and cite it.
Murmur or beta-only note: If the official post suggests an "experiment" or "beta", flag the update as limited and watch for follow-ups that expand availability.
Community Q&A or clarification: Product leads often answer follow-ups; prioritize their replies for finer-grained timelines.

Case studies: how official accounts clarified fast-moving stories

Two recent examples illustrate why a verified-account habit matters.

Case study: LIVE badges and cashtags (Jan 2026)

When Bluesky announced specialized cashtags and a way to signal live-streaming on external platforms, it was the official product account that published the authoritative feature notes. Press coverage and user threads often mischaracterized the scope; the official post included rollout targets and limitations that corrected early confusion. If you syndicate livestreams across platforms, consult a short cross-posting SOP like this guide to cross-posting before amplifying.

Case study: surge-driven clarity after platform controversy (late 2025)

Following the cross-platform controversy in late 2025, Bluesky experienced a near-term spike in installs. The official account posted timely guidance about safety features and reporting paths — those posts were used by moderators and creators to coordinate responses. Relying on the official channel prevented amplification of inaccurate mitigation steps circulating in third-party spaces. Community projects and verification registries can help scale this kind of corroboration, but always cross-check the primary signal.

For creators: how to publish verifiable official announcements on Bluesky

Creators who want their announcements to be recognized as official should follow these best practices — it helps indexers, press, and community curators include your handle in publisher lists like this one.

Link your Bluesky profile to an official domain: Add a link to your verified website (your company domain or press page) and ensure that domain links back to the profile — this two-way link is a strong verification signal.
Pin official release notes: Pin a post that links to a canonical press release or product blog outside Bluesky.
Use structured content: Include version numbers, dates, and short bullet lists in release posts to make automated parsing reliable.
Cross-post to owned channels: Publish the same release on your official website or company-owned GitHub repo and link between them.
Publish a DID proof on your website: If your org uses a DID, publish the DID document or proof of control on your official site to enable cryptographic verification.

Community submissions: how to add or update an entry

This index grows with verified contributions. When you submit a handle, include at least one of the following receipts:

Screenshot or link to a pinned post that links to an official company page.
Link from the company’s press page or staff directory to the Bluesky handle.
Public DID proof published on an official domain that resolves to the handle.
A corroborating statement from a verified official handle (e.g., the official product account acknowledging the team member).

Submissions without receipts will be queued for community verification and may be labeled "pending." We encourage transparency: if you submit an account for inclusion, publish the evidence publicly so others can audit it.

Advanced monitoring workflow (for power users and teams)

Set up this 5-step pipeline to automatically capture and verify official announcements in real time.

Seed feed: Subscribe to the official account RSS and add the feed to an ingestion pipeline (e.g., IFTTT, Huginn, Home Assistant, or custom Lambda).
Keyword filter: Run a lightweight filter for release-signature keywords ("rolling out", "release", "beta", "A/B test", cashtags, "LIVE").
Evidence fetch: For any candidate post, automatically fetch linked URLs and check for matching domain ownership, DID proofs, or canonical timestamps.
Human triage: Route matches to a small verification channel (Slack/Discord) where a human confirms or rejects the inclusion.
Broadcast: Once verified, forward the official announcement to your audience channels, with the original post link and a short verification note.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Relying solely on retweets/reposts: Reposts can amplify error. Always trace to the original official post.
Assuming blue checkmarks are definitive: Verification badges and UI markers differ between clients and can be forged in screenshots. Use DID/domain signals.
Over-updating your audience: If the official account declares a beta, label your coverage accordingly and avoid presenting it as GA (general availability).

What’s changing in 2026 — trends to watch

Expect the following near-term trends to shape how we track official accounts:

Greater use of cryptographic DIDs: As adoption of the AT Protocol matures, DIDs will become common verification primitives published on company sites.
More granular rollouts: Feature launches will increasingly use phased experiments; official accounts will post more granular rollout notes instead of single global announcements.
Third-party verification services: Community projects and verification registries will emerge to index official handles programmatically — leverage them but still cross-check.

Final checklist: what to do now

Follow bsky.app and enable notifications.
Create saved searches for features you track and subscribe to the official RSS.
Set up a lightweight webhook to push official posts to your team channel.
Contribute verified handles and receipts to expand this living index.

Contribute or claim an entry

This index is community-powered. If you are a Bluesky team member, engineer, or product lead and want your handle included as an official source — or if you have verified proof for a community submission — please submit the handle with receipts (link to press page, DID proof, or pinned announcement). Submissions with verifiable evidence are prioritized and typically processed within 48 hours.

Closing note: why verified-first matters

In an era of fast installs, rapid experiments, and cross-platform noise, the signal for an official announcement is fleeting but powerful. A small investment in verification — following the right official handles, setting alerts, and using DIDs — saves hours of chasing false leads and keeps your audience accurately informed.

Ready to cut through the noise? Follow the official account, set up monitoring, and contribute verified handles so we can all trust what’s labeled "official."

Call to action

Submit verified Bluesky handles or claim your official profile now — include a link to the official domain or DID proof and we’ll verify it. Help keep the Community Index accurate, fast, and official-first.

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Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.