A Eurosky Account is just the start

By @sherif.eurosky.social

Credit: ESA/A. Gerst CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

What's a Eurosky account? It's a personal account for the web. Most people use it today as an entry point to Bluesky, but it's much bigger than this. In the coming years it could become people's main online identity.

That's because the AT Protocol, the technology it’s built on and which powers Bluesky, has the potential to reshape the whole web. People working on AT Protocol technology call the apps and services that are being developed on it the Atmosphere.

The Atmosphere is really about what we call the social web. That’s anything online in which interactions between people are important: all kinds of social media, blogging, music discovery, coding, livestreaming, classifieds, community groups, even commerce and search.

Today, many of these apps exist and more are being released every week.

The heart of the Atmosphere is that people own and control their own accounts, data, connections, and preferences.

In contrast, Facebook, Google, Linkedin, Substack, Reddit all own and control the accounts of their users. It's like staying in a room in their hotel: they can change the rules, the prices, the quality of the service, and if you don't like it they kick you out and you can't take any of your stuff with you.

With Eurosky and other Atmosphere account providers, the account is yours. It's your house. We merely look after it, making sure you're getting water and electricity and fixing things if they break.

If we annoy you or you don't like our performance, you kick us out and get someone else to provide the service.

And we want to be held to account: Eurosky is an initiative of a nonprofit registered in Europe with a public interest mission. We’re building tools that make it easy for you to join, or to leave and to take your data – your friend network and your content – with you.

Your Atmosphere account is your home on the web and you own it mortgage-free.

We believe this account, with the flexibility and control it gives you, is the foundation for a whole new web. Where it lives matters.

Today all data on the Atmosphere is publicly accessible, but private data is coming to the protocol this year and will open up a whole world of applications and use cases: private groups, local communities, professional collaboration tools, cloud storage, private data that you only share with a service provider when you want. This will transform the Atmosphere into a very powerful system for the web.

Today, having your data hosted by an independent public interest provider can protect your account from the continuously changing rules from big tech platforms, all meant to benefit the platform at the expense of their users

When private data arrives in the Atmosphere, the day-to-day stakes of where your account is hosted, who manages it and which laws apply become all the more pertinent. Being hosted in Europe under European law becomes even more important.

A Eurosky account is much bigger than an alternative Bluesky account

Imagine if you had one account where you could control the permissions you give to any app or web service you use, and which data it can access and when. It would give you the power to see all the people you're connected to and your interactions with them across many apps and websites, decide what advertisers can know about you and enable you to change your preferences for every service you use in one go. Imagine an account you fully own and control, and that you can use to login to websites and apps across the web, without sign-in with Google or Facebook.

We're not there yet, and it will take some time. But that's the future of Eurosky/Atmosphere accounts.

Okay... but back to the present you think. I got my Eurosky account but I'm still on Bluesky, why do you not have an app?

The short answer: we don’t yet have an app, and we’re working on it.

The Long Answer

We are working to build a healthy, thriving social web in Europe – one that's good for people and good for society. We want platforms that give people reliable information, encourage healthy dialogue, and help democracy, and where people can have fun, relax, and make friends.

We don't think existing modes of social media do that very well, be they microblogging, vertical videos, or photo-sharing. They all have things going for them, of course and, when it comes to microblogging, the Bluesky team has done an amazing job at nudging the format towards a healthier space.

But we think much more needs to be done. We also need new experiences and new interfaces. Big and small social media, public, private, and everything in between. We want to enable choice. We want people to have the option of diverse experiences that speak to them, fit their preferences and their interests.

What are we doing in practice? Eurosky aspires to do two things:

We are also in the early stages of exploring new apps. One is a new social media experience that prioritizes focus and information customization for the person using it. Another is a variation on microblogging with substantial tweaks aimed at making conversations and interactions healthier and the overall experience more fulfilling.

We're also constantly speaking to, and partnering with, amazing builders in the ecosystem who are devising new technologies.

When will you see an app from Eurosky?

Ah! It all depends. We're currently building several prototypes and hope to launch them later in 2026. Bringing ideas to fruition, of course requires resources, as in €€. We're working on this too and will keep you updated as our plans develop.

The future of social media and the social web is not about 1, 2 or 5 platforms that will win - it’s about people’s choices.

We will have hundreds, maybe thousands of apps and services that cater to different needs and interests and at the center of this are people - doing what they want, where they want. A Eurosky Account is designed to be a foundational layer, putting you in control of your digital life and allowing you to seamlessly connect across this diverse and ever-expanding ecosystem.

-- with thanks to @robin.berjon.com and @ivansigal.eurosky.social for their input