As a holiday treat Bluesky finally adds Trending topics on its website and app, although they are currently in beta. The feature is a Twitter (now X) classic and has been available in Threads for about nine months, making it a no-brainer for any new social media site trying to catch up. However, Bluesky’s implementation is a bit clever – you can disable the feature completely and your muted keywords will be taken into account.
How to disable trending topics on Bluesky
Bluesky’s trending topics feed is currently in testing, so you may not see it right away (I haven’t seen it). To check if you have it, tap the search button on Bluesky’s website or in the app. If the feature is available to you, trending posts will appear below the text box. They are not listed in any order or priority. So expect a loose collection of popular keywords and not an organized list.
Personally, I’m not a big fan of trending topics, as they force me to engage in conversations I might prefer to avoid, and it’s always unclear how real they are – is there actually news worth discussing or does the algorithm just suggest that I want that? Help publish posts on a specific topic you think I’ll like?
Luckily, for people like me, it’s possible to disable Bluesky’s Trending Topics feature entirely. Disabling is as easy as clicking X Click the button next to the trending list, but for more detailed control go to Bluesky’s Content and media settings Page (Settings > Content and Media) to access trending topic switching.
It’s not entirely clear whether Bluesky’s trending topics are as personalized (or useless) as those on X, but we do know that they aren’t filtered by region, at least not yet. According to Blueskythe function is currently only available in English. Importantly, your muted keywords will also be hidden from your trending topics list. This way, you won’t be forced to see posts about politics or other topics you might want to avoid.
Other ways to see trending posts on Bluesky
While the new feature is undoubtedly convenient for some, it’s not the only way to find trending topics on Bluesky. For information about user-generated options, see Bluesky’s feeds page and search for “Trending.” This will display other feeds that follow trending posts on the social network, such as: Trending News, Blacksky: TrendingAnd Trending links. You can add these feeds to your profile and even set one as default if necessary.
If that doesn’t help, try this thresholdwhich allows you to view only those Links shared by people you follow. Sill allows you to show the most popular posts first and if necessary Follow many popular accountsYou can use the service to keep an eye on the latest topics from Bluesky.
