Bluesky, a growing social media platform and X’s arch-rival, has made an interesting announcement extending the video duration limit to three minutes, a major change from its previous limit of just one minute. The Bluesky version 1.99, not only improves video capabilities but also brings a new capability for handling direct messages (DMs). Included in the upgrade is a new filter called “Chat Requests,” meant to give users more control over who may personally contact them.
With the “Chat Requests” option, a banner will appear at the top of your inbox, alerting you to messages from people outside your known contacts. By tapping into this section, you can review these incoming messages and decide whether to accept or decline them.
“In addition to tooling to reduce DM spam, we’ve also added a new Chat Requests screen for messages from unknown users. You can accept or reject new conversations here,” the company said in its official post on BlueSky.
Bluesky has also added a helpful twist: when someone unknown tries to message you, the platform will indicate if they are followed by anyone in your network. This small detail could make it easier to gauge the trustworthiness or relevance of the sender, offering a layer of context that enhances user confidence.
In addition to these updates, Bluesky is streamlining the process of muting accounts, making it easier to manage your feed. Now, instead of having to visit a user’s profile to silence their posts, you can simply tap the three-dot menu directly beneath a post and select “Mute account”- saving time and effort.
