Bounce 2 Lets Users Move from Mastodon to Bluesky

Nonprofit A New Social has rolled out Bounce 2, a cross-platform migration tool that lets users transfer their Mastodon social graphs to Bluesky starting October 20, according to its official announcement. The update completes two-way portability between the rival open social platforms, meaning creators can now move accounts in either direction without losing their followers.

The service aims to prevent platform lock-in by giving users control over where their audience lives. If someone disagrees with moderation policies, feature updates, or terms of service on one network, they can migrate to another without starting from scratch.

How the Mastodon-to-Bluesky move works

Bounce 2 transfers follower and following lists from Mastodon profiles to Bluesky accounts. Users can either migrate their social graph to a fresh Bluesky profile or merge it into an existing one on the AT Protocol network.

The process differs slightly depending on direction. When moving from Mastodon to Bluesky, original posts and content stay behind—only the social connections transfer. Moving from Bluesky to Mastodon, however, preserves more data. If a Mastodon account was already bridged to Bluesky, follower lists merge rather than overwrite each other.

Two protocols, one migration path

The open social web runs on competing technologies that don't naturally communicate. Mastodon, Threads, and Pixelfed rely on ActivityPub, while Bluesky and Skylight use the AT Protocol. A New Social built Bounce on technology originally developed for Bridgy Fed, a bridge that makes profiles on one network visible to users on the other.

Bounce first launched in August with one-way migration from Bluesky to Mastodon. The tool leveraged bridged accounts—profiles that straddle both networks—to carry social graphs across the protocol divide. The latest version reverses that flow and adds merging capabilities.

Why account portability matters for creators

Social media migration has historically meant abandoning audiences. Traditional platforms trap follower relationships inside proprietary systems, forcing creators to rebuild from zero if they switch networks. That friction keeps many stuck on platforms they've outgrown or no longer trust.

Open protocols promise an alternative, but ActivityPub and AT Protocol remain siloed from each other. A New Social argues that true openness requires movement between entry points. The nonprofit frames Bluesky and Mastodon as gateways rather than destinations, and Bounce as the infrastructure that prevents those gateways from becoming new walled gardens.

For creators testing multiple platforms or hedging against policy changes, bidirectional migration reduces switching costs. Brands experimenting with decentralized social can shift resources without losing established connections. The tool matters most to those building audiences on open networks who want insurance against platform risk.

What comes next for cross-protocol tools

Bounce 2 goes live later in October. A New Social funds development through Patreon subscriptions and merchandise sales, and the nonprofit plans to expand bridging and migration features as adoption grows.

The broader challenge remains interoperability. Bridges and migration tools are workarounds for protocols that don't natively connect. Whether ActivityPub and AT Protocol networks will coordinate more directly—or whether tools like Bounce will remain the permanent connective tissue—depends on cooperation between competing visions of the open social web.

For now, creators have a manual escape hatch. The technology treats platform choice as reversible rather than permanent, a philosophical shift that could reshape how audiences think about where to invest their attention.