Bluesky has taken steps to address the growing problem of cybersquatting and extortion on its platform, which emerged after the network announced it would use domain name ownership to verify public figures.
The move led scammers to target high-profile individuals by registering their domain names and attempting to extort them for control over their usernames.
The Extortion Problem
Cybersquatting, the practice of purchasing domain names related to well-known individuals with the intent to sell them at inflated prices, became a significant issue for Bluesky after it introduced domain-based verification.
This allowed users who owned a domain, such as johnnyappleseed.com, to claim that name on the platform. Scammers took advantage of this by acquiring domains linked to public figures and threatening to block their ability to use their own name on Bluesky.
One example of this extortion tactic was highlighted by Bloomberg columnist Conor Sen, who was contacted by a scammer claiming ownership of conorsen.com and offering to sell it to him to avoid having his name suspended on Bluesky.
Bluesky’s Response
Bluesky has taken a step toward protecting users by introducing a partial solution. Now, when users switch to a custom domain, their original .bsky.social username will be reserved.
For example, if a user named johnnyappleseed.bsky.social switches to johnnyappleseed.com, Bluesky will block others from claiming the original username, thus preventing cybersquatters from hijacking it.
New Features: Mentions Tab and Reply Sorting
In addition to addressing the extortion issue, Bluesky has introduced a new Mentions tab, allowing users to view mentions separately from notifications.
The platform has also improved how replies are sorted, giving users the option to view them in a linear or threaded format, and sort by various filters, including hot, oldest, newest, most-liked, and random.
Bluesky has recently surpassed 25 million users, but with competition from platforms like Threads, it remains to be seen whether it can become a major player in the social media space.
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