Move from Mastodon to Bluesky - Bounce

Account Portability Between Social Networks Now Possible with Bounce 2

A new technology, Bounce, is designed to enhance the portability of social media accounts across various open social services. This allows users to seamlessly transfer their presence between platforms. The developers of Bounce have recently unveiled its latest iteration, Bounce 2, enabling the migration or merging of Mastodon accounts into Bluesky profiles.

Bidirectional Account Movement

Launched on October 20th, this update facilitates movement in both directions: from Mastodon to Bluesky, and conversely. The core principle behind this functionality is to prevent users from becoming locked into a specific service due to disagreements with its evolution, policies, or moderation practices.

Instead of being constrained, users gain the freedom to relocate their accounts as they see fit.

Origins of the Cross-Protocol Tool

Bounce’s migration tool was initially introduced in August by the nonprofit organization, A New Social. This group is dedicated to developing technologies that improve the accessibility and functionality of the open social web.

Understanding the Open Social Web Protocols

The current open social web relies on diverse underlying technologies known as protocols. These include ActivityPub, which powers platforms like Mastodon, Threads, Flipboard, PeerTube, and Pixelfed. Another key protocol is the AT Protocol, which supports Bluesky and Skylight, among other social applications.

These protocols are currently incompatible with each other, necessitating the use of bridges.

The Role of Bridges in Connecting Platforms

Bridges are tools created to connect disparate platforms. They allow users on different networks to follow each other’s content, regardless of their preferred service. This ensures continued connectivity across the social web.

Bounce's Development and Connection to Bridgy Fed

Bounce is built upon technology originally developed for Bridgy Fed. Bridgy Fed is another tool that establishes a connection between Mastodon and Bluesky, making user profiles visible across both services.

Initially, the service facilitated the movement of a user’s Bluesky account to a bridged account, spanning both networks, and then to their Mastodon account.

Bounce 2: Reverse Migration and Merging

The latest release, Bounce 2, now offers reverse functionality. It can transfer a Mastodon user’s social graph to Bluesky, or integrate it into a bridged profile for their existing Bluesky (or ATProto) account.

The process differs slightly depending on the direction of the migration, as noted by the organization.

Differences in Migration Direction

When migrating from Bluesky to Mastodon, if the Mastodon account is already bridged, follower lists are merged rather than overwritten. Conversely, when moving from Mastodon to Bluesky, original posts and content are not transferred, unlike the reverse process.

A New Social's Vision for the Open Social Web

According to an announcement from A New Social, “We believe services like Bluesky and Mastodon are only entry points into the open social web, but those entry points should not be a trap into yet another ecosystem.”

The organization emphasizes the importance of user agency, allowing individuals to change platforms while maintaining connections with their network.

Availability and Support

Bounce 2 is scheduled for release later this month. Users interested in supporting the nonprofit can do so through its Patreon page or by purchasing merchandise from its store.