"Bluesky's privacy practices present moderate-to-high risk primarily due to extensive collection of sensitive biometric and government identification data for age verification, indefinite retention policies, and broad sharing with third-party processors and service providers. While the platform explicitly prohibits targeted advertising and data sales, the collection of precise location data, device fingerprinting, and unencrypted direct message access for Trust & Safety purposes creates surveillance risk. The lack of user control over third-party biometric processing and undefined Trust & Safety data retention timelines represent the most critical privacy concerns."
bsky Privacy Concerns & Scorecard
Limited ability to control collection and processing of sensitive biometric data through third-party age verification vendors
Indefinite retention of personal data for account lifetime and Trust & Safety purposes with undefined duration windows
Extensive collection of sensitive biometric and government identification data during age verification process
Broad sharing of personal data with multiple categories of third parties including payment processors, age/identity verification vendors, developers, and business partners
Explicit commitment against targeted advertising and data sales provides meaningful control limitation
No recommended actions at this time.
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Data Collection & Tracking
Personal Information Collected
Account creation, age verification, identity confirmation, and customer service.
Age verification and identity confirmation for regulatory compliance.
Processing payments and age verification.
Enabling user communication, customer support, and Trust & Safety investigations.
Operating the social network, displaying user-generated content, and enabling interactions.
Providing location-based services and analytics.
Operating services, analytics, fraud prevention, and device recognition.
Operating services, improving user experience, and analytics.
Account verification, business operations, and compliance.
Cross-Platform Tracking
Bluesky does not describe cross-site or cross-app tracking mechanisms. However, through device fingerprinting (browser/device information, IP address, mobile carrier, ISP), third-party analytics providers, and connected third-party applications, your activity may be tracked across different services when you interact with integrated third-party social networking applications and developer services.
Tracking Methods:
Analytical/Performance Cookies
First-party and third-party cookies used to collect information about service usage, functionality, and user interactions for analytics and service improvement.
Pixel Tags (Tracking Pixels)
Tracking pixels embedded in pages and emails to measure engagement and collect usage information automatically.
Device Fingerprinting
Combination of browser/device information, IP address, mobile carrier, ISP, and cookie identifiers used to identify and track users across sessions and potentially across platforms.
IP Address Tracking
Automatic collection of IP address to derive general location and identify user's internet service provider and mobile carrier.
Third-Party Analytics Providers
Third-party analytics services may use their own tracking technologies to collect and analyze user behavior data; users have limited control over third-party tracking.
AI & Data Training
bsky does not train AI on your content
Based on their public policy, your content is not used to train AI models.
How to Object
No opt-out available
This service does not currently provide a public way to opt out of AI training.
Why We Analyzed bsky
TrueTerms automatically audits privacy policies and data practices using advanced machine learning to keep you informed and protected. This scorecard is based on the latest available public terms of service and privacy policies as of 2026.