Bounce Launches A Service For Moving Accounts Between Bluesky And Mastodon

Bounce, a caller exertion that adds a captious constituent to nan unfastened societal web, launches to nan nationalist connected Monday. The cross-protocol migration instrumentality offers a work that allows users of unfastened societal networks for illustration Bluesky and Mastodon to move their travel graphs betwixt their accounts, moreover though nan networks trust connected different underlying protocols.

Today, Mastodon users unhappy pinch nan work tin opt to move their account to a different Mastodon server, while Bluesky is developing technology that allows users to migrate their relationship to a caller PDS (Bluesky’s word for “personal information server”) connected its network. However, Mastodon runs connected nan ActivityPub Protocol and Bluesky connected nan AT Protocol, which has constricted nan expertise to migrate accounts crossed nan 2 platforms until now.

To work, Bounce uses exertion first developed for Bridgy Fed, a instrumentality that connects Mastodon and Bluesky by making users’ profiles connected 1 work visible connected nan other.

To move accounts, Bounce first moves a user’s Bluesky relationship to a bridged relationship that straddles nan 2 networks, past to nan user’s Mastodon account. This migration besides supports Pixelfed, an Instagram-like societal app that besides runs connected ActivityPub, for illustration Mastodon.

At launch, Bounce tin migrate users from Bluesky to Mastodon aliases Pixelfed, but not nan different measurement around. That’s because Bluesky’s infrastructure presently only allows users to move disconnected their servers, but doesn’t let migrations back. When that changes, Bounce will motorboat migration successful nan other direction, too.

In addition, early adopters should beryllium alert that erstwhile they move their relationship disconnected of Bluesky, they won’t beryllium capable to usage their Bluesky credentials to log into nan app again aliases different AT Protocol-based services again.

Developed by a nonprofit called A New Social, which is besides nan shaper of Bridgy Fed, Bounce’s motorboat is peculiarly timely for Bluesky users successful Mississippi. On Friday, Bluesky announced that it would block its work successful nan state alternatively than comply pinch a caller property assurance rule that it considers overly invasive from a privateness standpoint and that would require excessively galore resources for Bluesky’s mini squad to manage. This has near Bluesky users successful nan authorities without entree to nan societal network, highlighting nan request for devices that would let users to return their accounts elsewhere.

Bounce’s beta is disposable starting Monday and is aimed astatine early adopters and unfastened web enthusiasts who are consenting to effort nan work and connection feedback. While nan work is unfastened to nan public, users should familiarize themselves pinch nan migration process earlier making nan committedness to move their accounts, fixed that it’s not yet imaginable to move backmost to Bluesky aft they leave.