Short answer: Open Settings → Notifications. Each type – likes, follows, replies, mentions, quotes, reposts and more – has its own push and in-app switches and can come from everyone or only people you follow. To get alerted when a specific account posts, tap the bell on their profile.
This guide walks through every setting, what replaced priority notifications, how activity alerts work, how to mute a noisy thread, and what to check when push notifications stop arriving.
On this page:
- The direct answer
- Per-type notification settings
- Recipes: a calmer notifications tab
- How to get notified when someone posts
- What happened to priority notifications?
- How to mute a thread
- Bluesky push notifications not working?
- FAQ
The Direct Answer
| I want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Change which alerts I get | Settings → Notifications, then pick a type |
| Stop likes buzzing my phone | Likes → turn off Push, keep In-app |
| Only hear from people I know | Set replies, mentions and quotes to People I follow |
| Know when an account posts | Tap the bell on their profile |
| Silence one busy thread | Post menu → Mute thread |
| Stop people getting alerts for my posts | Privacy settings → limit who can be notified of your posts |
Per-Type Notification Settings
Bluesky rebuilt notification settings in July 2025 so that each kind of notification is controlled separately. The steps:
- Open Bluesky and go to Settings.
- Tap Notifications.
- Tap a notification type, such as Likes or Replies.
- Turn In-app notifications and Push notifications on or off independently.
- Choose whether they come from Everyone or only People I follow.
- Repeat for each type you want to change. Settings save automatically and follow your account to other devices.
The types you'll see:
- Likes – someone liked your post
- New followers
- Replies – replies to your posts
- Mentions – someone tagged your handle
- Quotes – someone quote-posted you
- Reposts – someone reposted your post
- Activity from others – new posts from accounts you've turned the bell on for
- Likes and reposts of your reposts – when people engage with something you reposted
- Everything else – things like someone joining through your starter pack, or verification updates
In-app vs push
In-app means the notification appears in the Notifications tab. Push means your phone alerts you. Most people get the best result by keeping in-app on for everything and being choosy with push.
Everyone vs people I follow
For most types you can limit the source. "People I follow" is the single most effective way to cut noise and harassment from strangers, while still seeing everything in your posts' threads if you go looking.
Recipes: A Calmer Notifications Tab
The creator setup
- Push on for replies, mentions and quotes from everyone
- Likes and reposts in-app only
- New followers in-app only
The quiet setup
- Push on only for replies and mentions from people I follow
- Everything else in-app only
The post-went-viral setup
- Push off for everything except mentions from people I follow
- Mute the viral thread itself (below)
- Turn on reply limits for the post – see Bluesky reply settings
If notifications are noisy because of specific people rather than volume, muting and blocking are better tools. See how muting works and our moderation lists guide.
How to Get Notified When Someone Posts on Bluesky
Activity notifications let you subscribe to one account and get alerted whenever it posts. This is the feature to use for breaking news accounts, a favorite writer or a friend.
- Open the account's profile.
- Tap the bell icon next to the Follow button.
- Choose Posts, or Posts and replies.
You'll get both a push and an in-app notification for each new post, as long as "Activity from others" is turned on in your notification settings. Tap the bell again to change or turn it off.
Why there's no bell on some profiles
Account owners can choose who is allowed to subscribe to their posts, including turning it off entirely. If you don't see the bell, that account has limited it. You can control the same thing for your own account in your privacy settings.
Alternatives to the bell
- A list feed. Put a handful of accounts on a list and pin it as a timeline – see how to pin a list as a feed.
- An RSS feed. Every profile has one; see Bluesky RSS feeds.
- Hashtags. To follow a topic rather than a person, see how to follow hashtags.
What Happened to Priority Notifications?
Bluesky used to have a single "priority notifications" switch that limited your notifications to people you follow. It was replaced by the per-type settings above. To recreate it, set Replies, Mentions and Quotes to People I follow. If you had priority notifications on before the change, your settings were carried over.
How to Mute a Thread on Bluesky
When a post takes off, every reply can trigger a notification. Muting the thread stops that without deleting anything:
- Open the post (or any post in the thread).
- Tap the … menu.
- Choose Mute thread.
You won't get notifications from that thread until you unmute it from the same menu. People replying aren't told. Mute words in your moderation settings work similarly for a word or hashtag everywhere.
Bluesky Push Notifications Not Working?
Work through these in order:
- Check the type's push switch in Settings → Notifications. It's easy to have in-app on and push off.
- Check the source filter. If replies are set to "People I follow", replies from others won't alert you.
- Check your phone's settings. On iPhone, go to Settings → Notifications → Bluesky (or your client) and make sure notifications are allowed. Check Focus modes too.
- Check the account. If you use multiple accounts, push may only be on for one of them.
- Check mutes. Muted accounts, muted words and muted threads don't notify.
- Sign out and back in to refresh push registration.
Moderation filters can also hide content from your notifications. Our moderation settings guide explains how labels affect what you see.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are notification settings on Bluesky?
Open Settings and tap Notifications. Each notification type has its own page with separate in-app and push switches and a choice of everyone or only people you follow.
How do I turn off like notifications on Bluesky?
Go to Settings, Notifications, Likes. Turn off push to stop your phone buzzing, or turn off in-app too to remove likes from the Notifications tab entirely.
How do I get notified when someone posts on Bluesky?
Open their profile and tap the bell next to the Follow button, then choose posts or posts and replies. If there's no bell, the account has limited who can subscribe.
What replaced priority notifications on Bluesky?
Per-type settings. To get the same effect, set replies, mentions and quotes to People I follow in Settings, Notifications. Existing priority settings were carried over when the change shipped.
How do I stop notifications from one thread on Bluesky?
Open a post in the thread, tap the three-dot menu and choose Mute thread. You won't get notifications from it until you unmute it, and nobody is told.
Why am I not getting Bluesky push notifications?
Check the push switch for that type, the everyone or people-I-follow filter, your phone's notification and Focus settings, and any mutes. Signing out and back in can also refresh push registration.
Notifications in Skyscraper
Skyscraper builds its own notification experience on top of Bluesky's:
- Push for mentions, replies, likes, reposts, quotes and follows
- Activity subscriptions for accounts you follow closely
- Grouping on All, with plain lists on filtered tabs
- Per-type filter tabs that fetch their own kind
- Badge counts that agree with the list, and a This Week's Activity recap
- Granular chat notification settings