# Are Likes Public on Bluesky? Who Can See Them and How to Keep Things Private

> Likes on Bluesky are public. Who can see what you liked, how to see likes on a post or your own profile, why you can't hide them, and the private alternative.

Canonical: https://scheduleforyou.com/blog/are-likes-public-on-bluesky
Last updated: 2026-10-28

Category: Bluesky. 

Yes, likes are public on Bluesky. Anyone can tap the like count on a post and see every account that liked it, and every like you give is stored as public data on the AT Protocol. The Bluesky app only shows the **Likes** tab on your own profile, so other people can't browse your likes there, but third-party tools can read them. There's no setting to hide likes. If you want to save posts privately, use **bookmarks** instead.

## Who can see your Bluesky likes

| Where | Can others see your like? |
| --- | --- |
| The like list on a post | Yes, your account appears in it |
| The Likes tab on your profile in the Bluesky app | No, only you see it |
| Third-party apps and tools using the API | Yes, likes are public records |
| The author of the post | Yes, in their notifications |

So the short answer to "can people see your likes on Bluesky" is: the person you liked always can, anyone looking at that post's likes can, and anyone determined enough can see the full list.

## How to see likes on a post

Open the post and tap the number next to **Likes** under it (on a post in the feed, open the post first). You'll see a list of every account that liked it, newest first. The same works for reposts and quotes.

## How to see your own likes

Go to your profile and open the **Likes** tab. It lists every post you've liked, newest first. The tab only appears on your own profile in the official app.

## How to see someone else's likes

The official app doesn't show other people's Likes tab. Some third-party Bluesky clients and web tools can display any account's likes, because the data is public. That's worth knowing before you like something you'd rather keep quiet.

## Can you hide likes on Bluesky?

No. Likes live in your public data repository, the same place as your posts, so there's no private mode for them at the time of writing. Your options:

- **Unlike it.** Tap the heart again. The like record is deleted, though anyone who saw it already, or a tool that copied it, may still have it.
- **Bookmark instead.** Tap the bookmark icon on a post to save it. Bookmarks (also called saved posts) are stored off-protocol and are private to you. Find them under **Saved** in the menu.
- **Use a second account** for things you want to follow quietly; it's still public, just not tied to your name.

For the wider picture on what's public, see [how to make your Bluesky account private](https://scheduleforyou.com/blog/how-to-make-bluesky-account-private).

## Do likes matter for reach?

Likes feed into Bluesky's Discover feed and many custom feeds, which rank posts partly by early engagement. They don't affect the Following feed, which is chronological. Posting when your followers are online gives a post its best first hour. If you post to Bluesky alongside X and Threads, Schedule For You can queue each version for the right time from one draft; the [Bluesky scheduler page](https://scheduleforyou.com/bluesky) has the details.

## Frequently asked questions

### Are likes private on Bluesky?
No. Likes are public data on the AT Protocol. The app shows your Likes tab only to you, but anyone can see that you liked a post by looking at its like list.

### Does Bluesky notify people when you like their post?
Yes. The author gets a notification unless they've turned like notifications off.

### Can I see who liked my Bluesky post?
Yes. Open the post and tap the like count to see the full list of accounts.

### Are Bluesky bookmarks private?
Yes. Saved posts are stored privately and aren't visible to anyone else, including the post's author.

## Related

- [All guides](https://scheduleforyou.com/blog)
- [Pricing](https://scheduleforyou.com/pricing)