Short answer: yes, Bluesky likes are public. Anyone can see who liked a post, and anyone who goes looking can see every post you have liked. The official app hides the Likes tab on other people's profiles, which gives a lot of people the wrong idea.

This post covers what is actually visible, why the official app's Likes tab is misleading, what happens when you unlike something, and what to use instead if you want to save posts privately.

The Direct Answer

Question Answer
Can people see who liked a post? Yes – the liked-by list on every post is public
Can people see everything I've liked? Yes – not in the official app, but the records are public and other tools show them
Does the author get notified? Yes – a like sends a notification
Can I make my likes private? No – there is no setting for it
Does unliking remove it? Mostly – the record is deleted, but a notification or archive may already exist
Is there a private alternative? Yes – bookmarks (Saved Posts) are private

Why Likes Are Public

On Bluesky, a like is not a counter that goes up on someone else's post. It is a record you publish.

When you tap the heart, your app writes an app.bsky.feed.like record into your repository on your personal data server. That record says, in effect, "this account liked this post, at this time." It is signed, public, and streamed over the firehose to anyone who is listening, the same way your posts are.

The like counts and liked-by lists you see in apps are built by an AppView that reads all those public like records and adds them up. Nothing about that process is private, and there is no field on the record that marks it as hidden. Our ATProtocol federation guide explains the repository model in more detail.

The practical consequence: treat a like the way you would treat a repost. It is a small public statement attached to your name.

The Likes Tab Is an App Choice, Not Privacy

This is the part that trips people up. In the official Bluesky app, the Likes tab only appears on your own profile. Visit someone else's profile and there is no Likes tab, so it is natural to assume likes are private.

They are not. The app simply chooses not to show them. Because every like lives in the liker's public repository, any client or website can list an account's likes by reading that repository. Some third-party tools do exactly this. A developer can do it with a single public API call.

So the honest version is: the official app makes it inconvenient to browse someone's likes, not impossible. If you would be uncomfortable with a specific person seeing a specific like, assume they can.

Who Can See What

The post's author

Gets a notification that you liked it, unless they have turned those notifications down. They can also see you in the post's liked-by list at any time.

Everyone else

Can open the liked-by list on any post and see every account that liked it. This works in the official app, in Skyscraper, and on the web.

Anyone using a third-party tool

Can go the other direction: start from your account and list the posts you have liked, newest first, going back as far as your repository does.

Firehose consumers

Likes are part of the public event stream. Anyone running a firehose or Jetstream consumer sees likes as they happen. Our firehose vs Jetstream guide covers what that stream contains.

What Happens When You Unlike

Unliking deletes the app.bsky.feed.like record from your repository. The deletion is published like any other change, the like count drops, and you disappear from the liked-by list.

What unliking cannot do:

  • Recall the notification. If the author already saw "you liked their post," they saw it.
  • Reach third-party archives. Anything that recorded the like from the firehose before you removed it may keep it. That is outside your control and outside Bluesky's.
  • Undo a screenshot. Obvious, but worth saying.

A quick unlike after an accidental tap usually goes unnoticed. A like that sat there for a week did not.

If You Want to Save Posts Privately, Use Bookmarks

A lot of people use likes as a "save for later" button. On Bluesky that is the wrong tool, because every save is announced to the author and recorded publicly.

Use bookmarks instead. Bluesky's bookmarks are private: they are not published as public records, the author is not notified, and other people cannot see your saved list. They also sync across clients, so a post you save in one app shows up in another.

You want to… Use Public?
Show appreciation to the author Like Yes
Share a post with your followers Repost Yes
Save a post to read or find later Bookmark (Saved Posts) No
Keep a permanent copy of an account's posts Account Backup No – it's a file you download

Practical Guidance

  • Like what you'd stand behind. A like is a lighter statement than a repost, but it is still a public one.
  • Bookmark instead of liking to save. Especially for posts from people you would rather not notify.
  • Don't rely on the missing Likes tab. It is a display choice in one app.
  • Unlike quickly if it was an accident. The sooner it is gone, the less likely it was seen or archived.
  • Remember likes are timestamped. They show when you liked something, not just that you did.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Bluesky likes public?

Yes. Every like is an app.bsky.feed.like record stored in your public repository. Anyone can see who liked a given post, and anyone with the right tool can list the posts a given account has liked.

Why can't I see someone else's Likes tab in the Bluesky app?

The official app only shows the Likes tab on your own profile. That is a design choice in the app, not a privacy setting. The like records are still public, and other clients and tools can rebuild anyone's likes from their repository.

Does someone get notified when I like their post?

Yes. The author gets a like notification, unless they have filtered those notifications on their end. Unliking later removes the like, but it cannot recall a notification that has already been seen.

If I unlike a post, is the like gone?

Unliking deletes the like record from your repository and the deletion propagates across the network. Anything already captured by a third-party archive or someone's screenshot is outside your control.

Is there a private way to save posts on Bluesky?

Yes. Bookmarks, called Saved Posts in Skyscraper, are private. They are not published as public records, so other people cannot see what you have saved.

Saved Posts in Skyscraper

  • Saved Posts – your whole bookmark list loads in one place, and Unsave All clears it when you want a fresh start
  • Saved Posts widget – keep your bookmarks on your iPhone Home Screen, pointed at whichever account you choose
  • Account Backups – download a full copy of any public account's posts as HTML or JSON

Download Skyscraper →

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