How to delete your Bluesky account
Bluesky is a decentralized social network built on the AT Protocol, with a Twitter-like timeline and roughly 30 million users. Unlike Mastodon, Bluesky users share a single ATProto network even when their data is hosted on different servers (PDSes). Bluesky stores your handle, profile, posts (skeets), likes, reposts, follows, and lists in a personal data repository that can in principle be migrated to another PDS. Deletion is fast but federated/relay caches can linger briefly.
Delete your Bluesky account, step by step
- 1Log in to bsky.app on the web or in the app
- 2Open 'Settings' (gear icon)
- 3Tap 'Account'
- 4Scroll to 'Delete account'
- 5Tap 'Delete my account'
- 6Enter your password and the confirmation code Bluesky emails you
- 7Tap 'Delete' — account and posts are deleted from the official Bluesky AppView immediately
What actually happens when you delete
Gets removed
- ✓Your handle (e.g., username.bsky.social) and display name
- ✓All posts, replies, and reposts in your personal data repository
- ✓Likes, lists, bookmarks, and follow graph
- ✓Custom feeds you authored as a user (not feeds run as separate services)
- ✓Profile, avatar, and banner
Stays behind
- ✗Federated copies of your public posts on independent AppViews and relays may linger
- ✗Public posts mirrored by search indexers and third-party Bluesky archives
- ✗Replies and quote-posts of yours that other users captured in screenshots or feeds
- ✗Records Bluesky retains for moderation, safety, and legal compliance
- ✗If you used custom domain as handle, the DNS record itself is yours to clean up
Before you delete
Because Bluesky uses an open protocol (AT Protocol), public posts may have been mirrored by third-party AppViews, relays, search indexers, and feeds outside Bluesky Social PBC's direct control. Bluesky sends a 'tombstone' across the network on deletion, which most well-behaved services honor. Export your data BEFORE deleting if you want a portable copy; the export is a CAR (Content Addressable aRchive) file you can import to another PDS later.
Download your data from Bluesky first
Most platforms only honor a data-export request while the account is still active. Do this before you delete.
- 1Open Settings > 'Account' > 'Export my data'
- 2Choose 'Export your account' to get a CAR file with all posts, likes, and repository data
- 3Optionally also export 'Following' and 'Lists' as CSV
- 4Download is instant in most cases
- 5Keep the CAR file — you can import it to another PDS to migrate the same identity if you ever decide to come back
Want to take a break instead? Deactivate
Deactivation hides your profile without permanently destroying it. Logging back in restores everything.
- 1Open Settings > 'Account' > 'Deactivate account'
- 2Confirm — your profile and posts are hidden but recoverable any time by logging back in
- 3Bluesky will purge a deactivated account that stays dormant for an extended period
If deletion fails — or you live in the EU, UK, or California
You have a legal right to request erasure of your personal data under GDPR (EU/UK) and CCPA (California). Use these official channels if the self-service flow doesn't work.
- Privacy contact: privacy@bsky.social
- Full privacy policy →
Bluesky deletion FAQs
Is Bluesky account deletion instant?+
Yes from Bluesky Social's official AppView. The 'tombstone' signal sent across the AT Protocol network takes additional time to propagate to independent AppViews, relays, and search indexers, and a small number may not honor it at all.
What's the difference between deactivating and deleting Bluesky?+
Deactivation hides your profile and posts but keeps your data in case you want to come back. Deletion permanently removes the repository and frees your handle. Use deactivation if you're just taking a break.
Will my Bluesky handle be available to others after I delete?+
Standard bsky.social handles are generally retired or held for an extended cooldown before being available again. If you used a custom domain as your handle (e.g., yourname.com), the handle is bound to your DNS — once you remove the TXT record, anyone who controls that DNS can claim it.
Will my Bluesky posts still appear in search engines and third-party tools after I delete?+
Cached copies on Google, Bluesky search tools like Skyfeed and search.bsky.social, and third-party AppViews can persist for days to weeks. Bluesky's official AppView reflects deletion immediately; the broader open network needs time to converge.
Can I move my Bluesky data to a different PDS instead of deleting?+
Yes — that's a core feature of AT Protocol. Export your repository as a CAR file, set up an account on a different PDS (your own or a community one), and import the CAR. Your handle and follow graph come with you.
What happens to my Custom Feeds I created?+
Feeds authored as part of your user repository are removed with the account. Feeds you operated as a separate service (a feed generator with its own DID) keep running because those are technically separate services on the network.
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