How to Mute a Word or Phrase on Bluesky

If you are tired of seeing posts about a specific topic, a recurring meme, or spoilers for a show you haven’t watched, Bluesky lets you hide those posts automatically. The Muted Words feature removes posts containing a chosen word or phrase from your feeds and notifications. This article walks you through setting up and managing muted words on Bluesky for both the web app and mobile app.

How the Muted Words Feature Works on Bluesky

Muted Words is a moderation tool built into Bluesky that lets you hide posts based on text content. When you add a word or phrase to your muted list, Bluesky automatically hides any post that contains that text in the body of the post. The hidden posts do not appear in your Home feed, in your Discover feed, or in your notifications. The poster is not notified that you muted the word. The feature works only for the text within the post itself, not for alt text on images or for the handle of the poster. Muted words apply to your entire account across all devices where you are logged in. You can add up to 100 muted words or phrases at a time.

Prerequisites for Using Muted Words

You need an active Bluesky account. The feature is available on the Bluesky web app at bsky.app and on the official Bluesky mobile app for iOS and Android. No special permissions or paid subscriptions are required.

Steps to Mute a Word or Phrase on Bluesky

Method 1: Using the Bluesky Web App

1. Open Settings
   On the Bluesky web app, click your profile avatar in the top-right corner of the screen. From the dropdown menu, select Settings.
2. Go to Moderation settings
   In the left sidebar under the Moderation section, click Muted Words.
3. Add a new muted word
   Click the Add muted word button. A text field appears.
4. Enter the word or phrase
   Type the exact word or phrase you want to mute. For example, type spoiler or election results. The filter is case-insensitive, so Spoiler and spoiler are treated the same.
5. Save the entry
   Press the Add button. The word or phrase appears in your Muted Words list.

Method 2: Using the Bluesky Mobile App

1. Open the Settings menu
   Tap your profile avatar in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Then tap the gear icon in the top-right corner.
2. Navigate to Moderation
   Scroll down and tap Moderation. Then tap Muted Words.
3. Add a muted word
   Tap the Add muted word button.
4. Type the word or phrase
   Enter the text you want to mute. For a multi-word phrase, type it exactly as it appears in posts. For example, game of thrones.
5. Confirm the addition
   Tap Add. The word is now muted across your account.

Method 3: Muting a Word Directly from a Post

1. Open the post
   On the web app or mobile app, locate a post that contains the word or phrase you want to mute.
2. Open the post menu
   Tap or click the three-dot menu icon at the top-right of the post.
3. Select Mute Words
   From the menu, choose Mute Words.
4. Choose the word to mute
   A list of words from the post appears. Tap the word or phrase you want to mute. Bluesky adds it to your Muted Words list automatically.

How to Review and Remove Muted Words

To see all your muted words, go to Settings > Moderation > Muted Words. A list of every word and phrase you have muted appears. To remove a muted word, click or tap the X icon next to the entry. The word is unmuted immediately, and posts containing it will reappear in your feeds and notifications.

Limitations and Things to Avoid

Muted Words Do Not Apply to Alt Text or Handles

Bluesky only scans the visible text of a post. If a post contains a muted word in the alt text of an image, that post is not hidden. Similarly, if the poster’s handle or display name contains the muted word, the post still appears. To hide posts from a specific user, use the account mute or block feature instead.

No Wildcard or Partial Match Support

Bluesky matches the exact word or phrase you enter. If you mute cat, it hides posts containing the standalone word cat but does not hide posts containing caterpillar or catalog. There is no wildcard character, and regex patterns are not supported. If you want to mute a root word and all its variations, you must add each variation separately.

Muted Words Are Not Retroactive

Adding a muted word does not hide posts that were already in your feed before you added the word. Only new posts that appear after the mute is applied are filtered. To clear your feed of previously visible posts, you can refresh the feed after muting the word.

Maximum of 100 Muted Words

Bluesky allows a maximum of 100 muted words or phrases per account. If you reach the limit, you must remove an existing muted word before adding a new one. The counter includes both single words and multi-word phrases.

Item	Muted Words	Account Mute
Scope	Hides posts containing specific text	Hides all posts from a specific user
Maximum entries	100 words or phrases	No explicit limit
Affects notifications	Yes	Yes
User is notified	No	No
Works retroactively	No	Yes

Using Muted Words on Bluesky gives you control over the content you see without blocking or muting other users. You can quickly mute topics during live events, hide spoilers, or remove repetitive phrases from your timeline. For more granular control, combine Muted Words with account-level mute and block settings. A useful tip: mute common spoiler indicators like spoiler and leak before a show finale to keep your feed clean.