Bluesky Now Lets Users Apply for a Verified Badge

After Bluesky announced a new verification badge system a month ago, the company is now allowing users to apply for verification. While everyone can now fill out a form to request a verification badge, the team said that only notable and authentic accounts of public interest should do it.

“To receive a verification badge from Bluesky, your account must be active and secure, authentic, and notable,” the company explained. Verification badges help users to distinguish authentic accounts from potential impersonators, but they’re not the only way to do this.

Indeed, Bluesky already lets users self-verify their identify by setting a custom domain as their username. This is pretty unique in the microblogging landscape, and the company still “highly encourage” official organizations and individuals to set their domain as their username, even though this won’t give them a verified badge on their profile.

The new verification system on Bluesky works in two ways: Authentic and notable accounts can apply for a verified badge, but they can also request to become a “trusted verifier” to get the ability to verify accounts directly. Trusted verifiers on the platform have scalloped blue checks on their profiles to distinguish them from verified accounts.

The Bluesky team has already given some organizations, like the New York Times, the trusted verifier status, so they can now issue blue checks to their journalists. However, Bluesky is still verifying blue checks given by trusted verifiers to ensure their authenticity. When tapping on a verified account’s blue check, users can also see which organization granted verification.