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Xue agreed, adding, “We align with the ATProto ethos that people should be able to communicate using the apps and tools they choose. We believe that by solving the hard problems for ATProto users in safe, transparent, and user-friendly ways, they’ll continue to choose us,” he said. Shortly after Bluesky added support for the Germ badge, another AT Protocol-based client, Blacksky, did as well.
In this talk, Dr. Kay will discuss how their own life's experience fueled their decades-long research on digital harm and how Blacksky Algorithms is taking what was once considered "me-search" and creating a safer internet rooted in self-determination and self-governance.
We are at a tipping point where “digital convenience” has become a trap for community memory. For archives and ongoing movements, the corporate cloud is no longer a neutral storage locker — it is a liability.
Blacksky Algorithms has announced an amazing new initiative to support mutual aid called BlackSky Cash. It's a thought-provoking effort with impressive goals, and it's exciting to see what's coming here.
Mutual aid has always been about more than money. But money, shared intentionally, can be a powerful expression of solidarity. This is us building toward that future.
A year ago, an investor asked what I'd build if I had the freedom. This is the answer: blacksky.cash for private payments and blacksky.tech for one-click infrastructure. We're just getting started.
Sovereignty is not an aesthetic. It is infrastructure." In a digital landscape defined by extraction and surveillance, true autonomy requires owning the platform, not just the profile. In Episode 18, we sit down with Rudy Fraser, founder of Blacksky Algorithms, to dismantle the current state of the internet. We discuss the creation of sovereign internet communities and the unique challenges faced by Black leaders in tech. This is not just about coding; it is about the "praxis of autonomy"—building open-source, community-driven platforms that prioritize privacy over profit.
Rudy Fraser, Founder & CEO of Blacksky Algorithms shares how Blacksky grew into the largest Black community on the decentralized web, with custom feeds used by over 2.5M people. He explains how their toolkit lets communities control algorithms, moderation, governance, and pooled funds while staying connected to a global social media ecosystem. Rudy talks about mutual aid roots, open-source development, community-written guidelines, the impact of US politics and free-speech crackdowns, and why privacy-preserving, community-run spaces are essential for Black autonomy and modern cypherpunk organizing.
PDS MOOver is a portability suite (with a cute cow logo) that lets you move your PDS between any two providers, plus useful stuff like backup and restore. And Blacksky has added PDS hosting to their suite of alternate ATProtocol services, with a tool called Tektite for the migration process. This is all pretty nascent – one estimate from August was that only about 1% of PDS were outside Bluesky servers. That was before Blacksky ramped up, so the number is probably higher now. And the vision of portable, personal storage is clear. Someday, you may be able to move your PDS around at least as easily as moving your money to a new bank.
It would have been better if the open networking sector had longer to build—just another year or two before Musk’s acquisition of Twitter or before the acceleration of the global authoritarian slide. But the ecosystems we have today offer plentiful ways for people who care about community self-governance to support the work of building out viable systems for high-context governance and connecting them together, by supporting efforts like Blacksky Algorithms and Northsky Social, which are building AT Protocol-based social networking stacks centering Black and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities
That is a growing concern among developers who say there are now too many social networking apps that have a poor understanding of social dynamics. Like Sora, they are “inherently antisocial and nihilistic,” says Rudy Fraser, the creator of Blacksky, the custom feed and moderation service for Black users on Bluesky. “They’ve given up on fostering real human connection and are looking to profit on supplying people with artificial connection and manufactured dopamine.”
“We’re demonstrating with AT Protocol that you can have a great user experience, have a good time again on the internet, and have real autonomy the entire time,” Fraser said.
Creators and users are locked in digital “serfdom” by corporate social media’s algorithms and business models. Rabble, Bridget Todd, and Rudy Fraser will tackle how to break free from the feudal overlords of tech, and explain why Musk buying Twitter aided the move to decentralized apps. They’ll dig into new financial models, open protocols, and new community apps that empower creators and users without enriching platform owners. Learn how to create strategies that sustain social communities, and why open, user-first social apps are gaining in popularity with creators and audiences alike.
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Blacksky.Community Terms of Service Terms of Service Effective Date: August 13, 2025 Welcome to blacksky.community, a social networking client created by Blacksky Algorithms Inc. (“Blacksky,” “we,” or “us”). Blacksky.community runs on the Authenticated Transfer Protocol (“AT Protocol”), with additional features built to support the Blacksky community (collectively, the “Services”). The following Terms of Service (the “Terms”) and our Privacy Policy govern your use of the Services. Blacksky Algorithms, Inc. is an independent and community-driven organization that develops decentralized tools for creating safe, independent online space. To support our work, click here. Blacksky is not owned by or affiliated with Bluesky […]
Blacksky.Community Privacy Policy Blacksky.Community Privacy Policy Effective Date: August 13, 2025 This Privacy Policy (this “Policy”) describes how Blacksky Algorithms Inc. (“Blacksky,” “we,” or “us”) collects, uses, and shares personal information on blacksky.community, a social networking client that runs on the Authenticated Transfer Protocol (“AT Protocol”) with additional features built to support the Blacksky community (collectively, the “Services”). Unless otherwise indicated, all terms in this Policy have the same definitions as those in our blacksky.community Terms of Service, the agreement that governs your use of the Services. Please note that this Policy does not apply to third-party services that you […]
There’s a new movement on the block. I like to call it “open social”. There are competing visions for what “open social” should be like. I think the AT Protocol created by Bluesky is the most convincing take on it so far. It’s not perfect, and it’s a work in progress, but there’s nothing I know quite like it.
Rudy Fraser is the founder of Blacksky, a community-driven project building on top of the AT Protocol while remaining independent of Bluesky, where that protocol originated. At Blacksky, he and his team are applying the principles of mutual aid and community ownership to algorithms, moderation teams, and governance tools for the Black community, giving users more control over their means of communication. “For me, community really means mutual accountability between the one and the many,” Rudy
This is part two of Nodestar, our three-part series on decentralisation. Blacksky is a community built using the AT Protocol by Rudy Fraser. Rudy built this both out of a creative drive to make something new using protocol thinking, and out of frustration over a lack of safe community spaces for black folks where they could be themselves, and not have to experience anti-black racism or misogynoir as a price of entry. Rudy and Alix discuss curation as moderation, the future of community stewardship, freeing ourselves from centralised content decision-making, how technology might connect with mutual aid, and the beauty of what he refers to as ‘dotted-line communities’.