PostEaseThe short answer
A Bluesky list is a named collection of accounts that someone puts together and others can use. Bluesky’s developer documentation defines user lists as “collections of users,” and says every list has a purpose that sets how it is meant to be used.
Bluesky’s blog names three kinds: “starter packs, curational user lists, and moderation lists.” Curation lists gather people worth following or reading; moderation lists gather accounts to mute or block in one step.
The kinds of list
From Bluesky’s developer documentation and blog:
| Kind | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Curation list | “A list of users to drive feeds or set threadgates”: a feed of their posts, or a limit on who can reply to yours |
| Moderation list | “A list of users for muting or blocking”, so a community can share one list instead of each person blocking alone |
| Starter pack | The third kind Bluesky names; covered in its own entry |
Who controls and who sees a list
Only the person who made a list can add or remove its members: Bluesky’s documentation says “Only the creator of a list can declare its members.” Lists are not private. Bluesky’s 2023 moderation report says “Lists themselves are always public,” and that using one follows the privacy of the action behind it: “blocking a list is public, while muting a list is private.”
How blocks and reports affect lists
Because lists can be misused, Bluesky has added rules around them:
| Since | What changed |
|---|---|
| August 2024 | Blocking the creator of a starter pack or curation list filters you out of any lists they create. Blocks have no effect on moderation lists, “because that would defeat their purpose” |
| August 2024 | Stricter policies on list titles and descriptions, with more labeling of lists |
| April 2025 | When a list is reported, its title and description are checked automatically for overt toxicity; a match hides the list from everyone but its creator until they change the name and description |
How lists connect to feeds
A curation list is one of the simplest ways to make a feed on Bluesky: put the accounts you want to read together on a list, and their posts can be read as a feed. The same list can set a threadgate, so that only the people on it can reply to a post. That makes curation lists useful beyond reading, for example to keep replies on a launch post to customers, collaborators or a team.
Using lists as a creator
Lists are public and shareable, so they work as small pieces of community building:
- Keep a curation list of the people you collaborate with, and share it so your audience can follow them too.
- Get added to lists in your niche by posting consistently on one topic; people curate accounts they can describe in a word.
- Subscribe to a trusted moderation list rather than blocking one account at a time, and remember that blocking via a list is public.
Questions
Are Bluesky lists public?
Yes. Bluesky says lists are always public. Blocking a list is public, while muting a list is private.
Can someone add me to a Bluesky list without asking?
Yes, only the list’s creator decides its members. If you block the creator of a curation list or starter pack, you are filtered out of the lists they create; blocks do not affect moderation lists.
What is the difference between a curation list and a moderation list?
A curation list drives feeds or sets who can reply to a post. A moderation list is for muting or blocking every account on it at once.
What happens when a list is reported?
Since April 2025, Bluesky automatically checks a reported list’s title and description for overt toxicity and, on a match, hides the list from everyone except its creator until it is renamed.
Sources
- Bluesky, User lists, checked October 2026.
- Bluesky, Bluesky 2025 Transparency Report, January 2026.
- Bluesky, New Anti-Toxicity Features on Bluesky, August 2024.
- Bluesky, Bluesky 2023 Moderation Report, January 2024.