Last month, we reported that Surf, a new app from Flipboard, was adding a vertical video feed that pulls content from BlueSky's trending video feed and posts using the hashtag #SkyTok.
Now, Surf is getting another Bluesky-related update that users looking to move away from Elon Musk will appreciate. If you didn’t know, Surf markets itself as the "first browser for the open social web." It supports protocols like ActivityPub, AT Protocol, and RSS, enabling the integration of various media types such as videos, news, podcasts, and social posts.
In the latest beta update, Surf will now allow BlueSky users to log in with their BlueSky credentials, giving them access to their feeds (following, discover, and custom) without needing the BlueSky app.
You can like, repost, and reply to BlueSky posts directly. BlueSky became a safe space for Twitter refugees after Elon Musk took over Twitter and made controversial changes. The platform has grown significantly. For instance, last year, it gained around a million users from Brazil after X was banned in the country.
If you’ve been on these alt-Twitter platforms, you’ll know that alongside their disdain for AI, Elon is a huge topic. From Threads to Mastodon to BlueSky, it’s easy to find posts from Twitter refugees venting about Musk and his antics (like the salute). For some, constantly seeing Musk-related posts gets exhausting.
For users like that, the latest Surf update introduces a setup wizard to help create a custom home feed directly in the app. This feed can pull content from Mastodon and BlueSky. The setup wizard includes filtering options with three toggles: Exclude Politics, Exclude News, and one specifically for Musk, Exclude Elon.
According to Flipboard CEO Mike McCue:
A lot of people I’ve personally spoken with are like... I use Bluesky to get away from the news. And I don’t want to read about Elon. I don’t want to hear any politics.
The beta update is rolling out to existing Surf testers, with plans to onboard more users. Surf also aims to expand beyond Apple’s TestFlight soon, removing the 10,000-tester cap and making the app more widely accessible.
Source: TechCrunch
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