Bounce Introduces Tool to Help Transfer Your Mastodon Account to Bluesky

Bounce, a technology designed to improve the portability of social media accounts across open platforms, now allows users to migrate their Mastodon accounts to Bluesky. On Tuesday, the Bounce team introduced its latest beta version, Bounce 2, which facilitates the migration or merging of users’ Mastodon social graphs into their Bluesky profiles.

This feature is scheduled to launch on October 20, enabling open social web users to transition between Mastodon and Bluesky seamlessly. The aim is to enhance account portability, preventing users from being confined by a service’s evolution, terms, moderation policies, or other constraints, allowing for easy shifts to alternative platforms.

Originally unveiled in August by the nonprofit A New Social, Bounce’s cross-protocol migration tool focuses on advancing accessibility and functionality within the open social web.

The open social web currently includes various underlying technologies known as protocols, such as ActivityPub, which powers Mastodon, Threads, Flipboard, PeerTube, Pixelfed, and others. The AT Protocol underpins Bluesky, Skylight, and additional social applications.

As these two protocols do not interconnect, bridging tools that link different platforms have been formulated. Users can now connect their accounts, enabling followers from various networks to view their content, irrespective of the service they prefer.

Bounce is based on technology initially developed for Bridgy Fed, another tool that connects Mastodon and Bluesky by showcasing users’ profiles from one service on the other.

Initially, the service facilitated the transfer of a user’s Bluesky account to a bridged account, linking both networks, and subsequently to the user’s Mastodon account.

With the introduction of Bounce 2, users can now transfer their Mastodon social graphs to Bluesky or incorporate them into a bridged profile for their existing Bluesky (or ATProto) account.

However, there are slight differences in the process when migrating in this direction, as noted by the organization.

When transitioning from Bluesky to Mastodon, if the Mastodon account is already bridged, the follower lists will merge rather than replace. Additionally, when transferring from Mastodon to Bluesky, your original posts and content will not follow you, unlike the other direction.

“We believe that platforms like Bluesky and Mastodon should act as gateways to the open social web, but these gateways shouldn’t confine users to a single ecosystem,” said a declaration from A New Social. “Users should have the freedom to adapt, adopt technologies that serve them best, and stay connected with their networks, no matter the platform they choose.”

Bounce 2 is scheduled for launch later this month, and users can support the nonprofit through its Patreon or merchandise store.