You must use Bluesky “app passwords” when connecting to third party apps

Bluesky, the social network where all the X-pats seem to have disappeared, makes it easy for developers to create projects using its API. For most people, this means that you can use third-party apps to view your Bluesky channel, post to it, find new subscribers, etc. The social network’s community storefront even features various clients built on top of the Bluesky API. You can simply use your Bluesky master password with these clients, but for added security you’ll need a separate app password: here’s how to create one.

What are the application passwords on Bluesky?

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To integrate projects created by the Bluesky community into the platform, the developers of the social network decided to allow the use of application passwords – individual keys that allow third-party applications to access your account, but can be revoked at any time for additional control. This will save you from having to tell the app your Bluesky master password.

An app password is a unique code that Bluesky can generate for each app you want to link your account to. Once you’ve created an app password, you can paste it into a third-party client to give it access to your account (you won’t be able to view this password in Bluesky anymore, so copy it if you think you’ll need it). that’s later). You can create multiple app passwords to add more clients to Bluesky, and at any time you can remove an app password to deny it access to your account.

How to create application passwords in Bluesky

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Follow these steps to create a Bluesky app password:

1. Open Bluesky and go to the settings page. On the desktop Settings The button is on the left panel, and in the BlueSky app it is under the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) in the upper left corner.

2. Go to Privacy and Security > App Passwords. Alternatively, you can directly go to the app passwords page here.

3. Choose Add app password.

4. Choose a name for your application password. Ideally, you want to use a name that you can recognize, such as “Deck Blue”, which will tell you exactly what app is using that app password.

5. On the same page you will see a checkbox that says Allow access to your private messages. Think carefully before enabling this option. If a third-party app goes rogue, you want it to have access to as little of your information as possible. If you’re using a third-party app as your main Bluesky client, you might want to give it access to your private messages, but if you’re just trying out a new client or only using it for other feed browsing, you might want to avoid it.

6. When you’re ready, click Next.

7. You will see the new application password on the screen. Copy it and paste it into the login page of your desired third-party Bluesky client.

That’s it! You can repeat this process to create more app passwords. To revoke access to an app using a password, simply click the red trash can icon next to the app password and select Delete.