Bluesky has applied to create “.bsky” as a new internet top-level domain, potentially allowing users to replace longer handles such as “sarahp.bsky.social” with shorter addresses like “sarahp.bsky.” The application has not yet been approved, and the process could take between 18 and 24 months.
CEO Toni Schneider announced the application ahead of ICANN publishing applications submitted in its latest round of new top-level domains. ICANN, the nonprofit organization responsible for coordinating the internet’s domain name system, published 1,615 applications from 481 applicants on October 7.
Bluesky Sees Domains As Part Of Online Identity
If approved, .bsky could give Bluesky more options for how it handles user identities and profiles. A profile could eventually work as a broader personal web presence instead of only displaying a biography, posts, and other social activity.
Bluesky already uses domain names as account handles through the AT Protocol, allowing people and organizations to use domains they control as their identities. The proposed .bsky suffix could make that concept available through shorter names directly associated with Bluesky.
The company has not decided how users would request, register, or receive .bsky domains. Bluesky also said it currently has no plans to sell or monetize them.
“Domains are a big part of the open web, as they allow users to control their own online identity,” Bluesky COO Rose Wang told TechCrunch. She said Bluesky was built around the idea that users should own their online presence rather than depend entirely on an account controlled by a platform.
Approval Could Take Up To Two Years
ICANN opened its latest application process to organizations seeking new generic top-level domains similar to existing suffixes such as .com and .org. Its October 7 figures show applications from companies and organizations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa.
Bluesky’s application still needs to pass through ICANN’s review process before the company can begin using .bsky. Schneider said that process is expected to take 18 to 24 months.
The application follows Bluesky’s continued development of the wider AT Protocol ecosystem under CEO Toni Schneider, who became permanent CEO in July after serving in the position on an interim basis. Bluesky said at the time that nearly 200 new apps had launched within its open social ecosystem during the previous four months.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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