Bluesky<\/a>, the Jack Dorsey-backed Twitter alternative<\/a>, is getting its first third-party app for mobile users: a new app called Graysky.<\/a> Though numerous Bluesky projects built on the company\u2019s API are already in the works or in testing, Graysky will be the first to ship to the App Store, where it\u2019s now available for pre-order<\/a> with an October 21st launch date. It will also arrive on Android. The app promises an improved Bluesky experience with additional features like support for GIFs, inline translation, an easy way to view everyone\u2019s likes, a feeds-first layout, hashtag support, and more.<\/p>\n Built by London-based software engineer Samuel Newman<\/a> (@mozzius.dev<\/a> on Bluesky), the idea to create a Bluesky client was not initially driven by an interest in the company\u2019s decentralized networking protocol, the AT Protocol, which will eventually allow Bluesky to operate more like Mastodon where people can set up their own servers that interconnect.<\/p>\n Rather, explains Newman, Bluesky was appealing because it\u2019s simply a better Twitter.<\/p>\n His excitement over the new social network prompted him to start building a third-party client as a fun side project. But he then realized that Bluesky was lacking support for various features that his app could support. For example, Bluesky hadn\u2019t yet rolled out support for viewing your own likes at the time, so that was an early focus for Graysky and one that gained it a following as users clamored for early access.<\/p>\n Though Bluesky has now shipped support for likes on users\u2019 profiles, Graysky aims to stay a step ahead of the official app by supporting features that Bluesky does not. For example, Graysky lets you see everyone\u2019s likes, not just your own \u2014 similar to Twitter\/X. It will also support the ability to send GIFs powered by Tenor that are backward compatible with the official app, and supports inline translation within threads.<\/p>\n To differentiate itself from Bluesky beyond feature set alone, Graysky sports a unique user interface where instead of landing you on your home timeline (or skyline, in Bluesky lingo), the main tab will direct you to your set of feeds.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Graysky<\/p>\n<\/div>\n One of the key differentiators between Bluesky and Twitter\/X is its support for algorithmic choice through custom feeds. That means instead of being defaulted to an algorithmic \u201cFor You\u201d timeline, Bluesky users can subscribe to custom feeds that the company or other developers have created that filter the posts across the network in any number of ways.<\/p>\n For instance, Bluesky itself offers feeds like the \u201cWhat\u2019s Hot\u201d feed of popular posts and its earlier version, \u201cWhat\u2019s Hot Classic,\u201d as well as feeds showing posts from your \u201cMutuals,\u201d the Bluesky team, and more.<\/p>\n Others have built custom feeds based on themes or interests, like those for cute animal pics, tech news, gardening, books, astronomy, or even adult content. There are also feeds that let you filter your timeline in different ways, like seeing posts that are popular with friends or just those featuring your @mentions.<\/p>\n In Graysky, you start by hopping directly into the feed of your choice from its main tab. And if you\u2019re looking for more feeds to follow, a discovery interface lets you browse all the feeds others have built.<\/p>\n The app also features a search interface for surfacing users, posts, and feeds, unlike Bluesky\u2019s mobile app which only supports searching for users and posts.<\/p>\n Other Graysky tabs let you compose a post (where it offers a better alt text edit for attached images), access your notifications, and view your profile.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Graysky<\/p>\n<\/div>\n From the app\u2019s main menu, you can keep tabs on your invite codes, change the app\u2019s theme to a light or dark mode, and adjust other settings like those related to your account, handle, your moderation and home feed preferences \u2014 like how much adult or violent content you\u2019re okay with viewing or whether you want to see reposts \u2014 your muted users, and more.<\/p>\n Though Newman wasn\u2019t originally inspired to build Graysky because of the AT Protocol itself, he now sees the appeal of something that\u2019s more open-ended and more like email.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is really interesting,\u201d he says. \u201cIt sidesteps a lot of the problem that Twitter is having in terms of, you know, megalomaniacs in charge, and also moderation.\u201d Plus, he adds, the decentralization aspects would allow users to \u201csweep annoying users into obscurity instead of outright banning them, which I think is just a better way to run something that\u2019s supposed to be like the public square,\u201d Newman says.<\/p>\n Though Graysky\u2019s feature set is somewhat limited at launch, the app\u2019s planned roadmap is much more extensive.<\/p>\n In the future, Newman plans to add support for drafts, bookmarks, automatically generated alt text, muted words, polls, notifications, more home feed preferences, better content filters, tagging posts with language or content warnings, and lists. The latter is a much-in-demand feature for those who enjoyed being able to curate groups of people on Twitter\/X, but now don\u2019t have access to similar functionality on Bluesky.<\/p>\n Though Graysky<\/a> was largely built by Newman, he credits others for their help with the project, including Bluesky users @alice.bsky.sh<\/a> (Alice) @holden.bsky.social<\/a> (Holden Foreman), and @matthewstanciu.com<\/a>. Ahead of its planned Oct. 21st launch date, Graysky was tested by over 4,000 users.<\/p>\n The iOS version of the Graysky app is available now for pre-order on the App Store<\/a> and an Android version will also be made available.<\/p>\n The app will be free to use without in-app purchases for the time being, but further down the road, Newman is planning a ~\u00a33.99 per month (just under $5 USD) subscription service for polls and a posts analytics service that shows how your posts perform over time with graphs. In the meantime, you can support development by sponsoring Newman on GitHub.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/graysky-3.jpg?w=680\")
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