Bounce, a new technology that adds critical components to the open social web, will be made public on Monday. The Cross-Protocol Migration tool provides a service that allows users of open social networks such as Bluesky and Mastodon to move follow graphs between accounts, despite the network relying on different underlying protocols.
Today, Mastodon users who are unhappy with the service can choose to move their accounts to another Mastodon server, but Bluesky is developing technology that allows them to migrate their accounts to a new PDS on their network (the term Bluesky's “personal data server”). However, Mastodon runs the AT protocol with ActivityPub Protocol and BlueSky. This has limited the ability to migrate accounts across two platforms so far.
For work, Bounce uses technology developed for Bridgy Fed. This is a tool that connects Mastodon and Bluesky by displaying the user profile of one service on the other service.
To move an account, first move the bounce to the user's BlueSky account to a bridged account that spans two networks, then to the user's Mastodon account. This migration supports Pixelfed, a social app like Instagram that also runs on ActivityPubs like Mastodon.
At launch, Bounce can migrate users from Bluesky to Mastodon or Pixelfed, but not the other way around. This is because BlueSky's infrastructure now allows users to move away from the server, as well as not only does it allow migration. Once that changes, the bounce begins to move in the opposite direction.
Additionally, early adopters should note that if they move their accounts out of BlueSky, they will not be able to log in to the app or other services again with protocol-based services using their BlueSky credentials.
The launch of Bounce, developed by a nonprofit called New Social, which is also the maker of Bridgy Fed, is particularly timely for Bluesky users in Mississippi. On Friday, Bluesky announced it would block services in the state rather than complying with the new age guarantee law, which it considers to be overly invasive in terms of privacy and requires too much resources to manage. This highlights the need for tools that allow BlueSky users in the state to remain without access to social networks and allow users to get accounts elsewhere.
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Bounce's beta is available starting Monday and is aimed at early adopters and open web enthusiasts who are willing to try out the service and provide feedback. Although the service is open to the public, users must be familiar with the migration process before making their commitment to moving their account.