As Bluesky, the fast-growing social media service, continues to attract more celebrities and popular influencers, concerns around impersonation and verified identity have come to the forefront. In response, the company's Safety team has updated its impersonation policy to be "more aggressive," with a focus on removing impersonation and handle-squatting accounts.

The policy update comes as Bluesky has quadrupled the size of its moderation team, enabling the company to act more quickly on impersonation reports. Despite this, the company acknowledges that there is still a "large backlog of moderation reports due to an influx of new users." This influx has led to a growing number of users questioning the authenticity of accounts, with some even creating their own verification lists and badges.

One key factor contributing to the confusion is Bluesky's lack of a verified user badge, similar to the one popularized on Twitter (now known as X). Instead, the platform relies on other signals, such as verified domains in user handles, to indicate the trustworthiness of an account. For example, users can identify official Bluesky accounts by the "bsky.team" domain in their handles. The company is working to help many organizations and high-profile individuals set up their verified domain handles.

In addition to addressing impersonation concerns, Bluesky has also clarified its stance on parodies and fan accounts. These types of accounts are allowed, but they must clearly label themselves in both the display name and bio to avoid confusion. The company has also emphasized that "identity churning" – setting up an impersonation account to gain followers and then switching to a different identity – is not permitted and can result in account removal.

Bluesky CEO Jay Graber has hinted at the possibility of future verification options, suggesting that the company could enable other apps or organizations to provide their own verification. This would allow users to choose between trusting Bluesky's verification or opting for alternative methods. The Bluesky Safety team has also acknowledged user feedback, stating that they are "exploring additional options to enhance account verification" and hope to share more information soon.

The updates come as Bluesky continues to navigate the challenges of rapid growth and the need to balance user freedom with the importance of maintaining trust and safety on the platform. As the company continues to evolve and address these concerns, it remains to be seen how its approach to verification and impersonation will impact the user experience and the broader social media landscape.