Bluesky to Launch Blue Check Verification Through Trusted Organizations

Bluesky is preparing to launch a brand-new blue check verification system – and it’s shaping up to be quite different from X’s current approach.

According to code changes spotted on Bluesky’s public GitHub repository by reverse engineer alice.mosphere.at, the platform is building a blue check system that relies not just on internal verification, but also on a network of "trusted verifiers." These organizations would be able to confirm users’ identities and issue verification badges directly.

In other words, Bluesky isn’t planning to keep all verification power centralized. Instead, recognized third parties – such as media outlets or public institutions – might soon be able to issue blue checks, decentralizing the system and giving it a layer of transparency.

The verification icons were also included in the code:

This move stands in stark contrast to X (formerly Twitter), which previously handed out verification badges to high-profile or credible users before switching to a subscription model. Under Elon Musk, the blue check became available to anyone paying for X Premium, though some exceptions were later made for influential users.

That shift caused criticism that verification on X had lost its meaning – especially as bot and spam accounts started appearing with checkmarks.

Bluesky’s plan allows for verification history to be visible. By clicking on a blue checkmark, users will be able to see which organization verified a specific account, adding transparency and accountability.

This system expands on Bluesky’s existing verification feature, which already allows users to tie their identity to a personal or professional domain name.

Bluesky CEO Jay Graber had previously hinted that the platform was looking at ways to open up verification beyond a single central authority. With this GitHub update, that vision seems to be coming to life.

While we’ll need to wait for the official rollout to see how it performs in practice, this could mark a major shift in how verification works on social platforms – less about clout, more about credibility.

Bluesky hasn’t commented yet on the changes, but all eyes will be on their blog next week.