Bluesky is introducing private bookmarks—branded as “Saved Posts”—giving users a discreet way to stash posts for later without signaling approval or intent. The option appears as a new bookmark icon beneath each post, next to the familiar heart, and all saves are collected in a dedicated Saved section in the app’s main navigation.
On Bluesky, likes are public by design because the underlying AT Protocol treats most account interactions as visible, portable data. Saved Posts solve a different job: quickly filing something away without broadcasting it. For power users, that distinction matters. A save is research; a like is a statement.
Why private saves matter
Public likes can chill engagement. X, for example, has hidden users’ likes to reduce social pressure and reputational risk around “edgier” content. Privacy advocates, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have long warned that public reaction data can overexpose people’s interests and networks, even when they don’t intend it. A private save returns control to the person doing the reading.
Use cases are obvious: reporters building a sourcing trail, researchers tracking evolving narratives, creators saving references, or anyone who doesn’t want their reading habits tied to their public persona. Many Bluesky users have resorted to replying with a pushpin emoji as a clumsy bookmark; the platform now offers a clean alternative and a migration tool to gather those pinned replies into proper saves.
Built around AT Protocol limits—by design
There’s a technical backstory. The AT Protocol, which powers Bluesky and other compatible apps, doesn’t yet support private, end-to-end encrypted personal data as a first-class feature. Likes are public because they’re part of the portable social graph. Private saves don’t fit that mold.
To ship the feature now, Bluesky is storing Saved Posts off-protocol, similar to how it handles direct messages. That separation keeps saves private but introduces a trade-off: they’re not (yet) portable across third-party AT Protocol clients. If and when the protocol adopts a standard for private data, Bluesky could shift saves into that layer so they can move with the user.
From a product standpoint, the decision is pragmatic. The company protects user privacy today while leaving room for future interoperability. AT Protocol documentation has consistently emphasized portability and user agency; extending that philosophy to private state is an obvious next step for the ecosystem.
Signals, metrics, and creator impact
Private saves add a new, invisible signal to Bluesky’s engagement stack. Likes continue to serve as public social proof; saves capture intent without the performative layer. On other platforms, growth teams often treat saves and shares as stronger predictors of content value than likes because they indicate deeper utility or relevance. Expect creators to ask for save analytics—aggregate counts, not identities—to calibrate what truly resonates.
Discovery could also benefit. Bluesky’s custom feeds already allow independent ranking logic. If the platform exposes non-identifying save counts to feed builders, they could weight “savedness” for quality signals while respecting privacy. That would mirror how some networks give third-party tools access to engagement aggregates without exposing who did what.
A smoother workflow for power users
Saved Posts streamline everyday workflows. Instead of cluttering likes with items you don’t endorse or spamming yourself with self-replies, you can file posts into a private, scannable queue. For journalists and researchers, it’s a safer pattern: you can monitor emerging topics and sources without tipping your hand. For casual users, it’s the difference between “I’ll read this later” and “I approve of this.”
The feature lands alongside steady product momentum. Bluesky recently consolidated media uploads with a single photo-and-video button, added feedback tools for custom feed creators, and introduced Starter Packs—a simple way for curators to recommend people to follow. Together, these updates lean into utility, not just conversation.
What to watch next
The big question is protocol-level privacy. If the AT Protocol formalizes encrypted personal data, Saved Posts could become portable across compatible apps without sacrificing confidentiality. That would set a high bar for decentralized social: user-owned identity, portable public graph, and truly private personal state.
Until then, Bluesky’s private bookmarks are a practical win. They respect how people actually use social platforms—read, research, return—without forcing public performance. For a network built on openness, giving users more ways to be private is a smart, overdue move.