A new startup, Germ, is introducing end-to-end encrypted messaging to the Bluesky social network. This feature will provide users with a more secure option for conversations than the current DMs on Bluesky.
The service is introducing its encrypted DMs for Bluesky into beta this week, following more than two years of development. The service intends to progressively enroll new participants in anticipation of a public launch.
Germ’s technology, which is largely open-sourced, has the potential to enable Bluesky to integrate encrypted messaging into its own application. At some point, this could be achieved.

Germ was developed to provide a viable alternative to the globally dominant end-to-end encrypted platforms, including WhatsApp, Signal, and iMessage.
Germ capitalizes on emerging technologies, including the AT Protocol (ATProto), which powers Bluesky, and Messaging Layer Security (MLS), a new standard that has been approved by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

Nevertheless, Germ integrates with ATProto, as opposed to necessitating a user’s phone number, as some messaging applications do.
This enables Germ users to securely communicate with acquaintances from Bluesky and the broader open social web, which includes applications such as Flashes and Skylight, while also providing additional user experience controls.
For example, you may elect to receive direct messages from individuals you follow on Bluesky or to restrict the ability to initiate conversations with others to only you.

Additionally, you have the option to restrict a user’s access to Germ exclusively or to prevent them across Bluesky and other ATProto-powered applications when you block them.
The concept for Germ was developed by co-founders Tessa Brown (CEO), a communications scholar who has previously taught at Stanford, and Mark Xue, a privacy engineer at Apple who worked on technologies such as iMessage and FaceTime.

The health of social networks was fundamentally dependent on access to private communications, as Brown discovered through her research.
“We are aware that it is impossible to establish a positive relationship with others when one is constantly subjected to psychological manipulation and observation.”

Brown informs TechCrunch that this is precisely the definition of social media in the present day. “I emerged from that work with a fervent belief that end-to-end encrypted messaging was the epitome of the future of communication and social media.”
Xue, on the other hand, emerged from Apple with the conviction that the use of telephony and phone numbers is an antiquated technology that cannot be used as the foundation for secure communications. Consequently, he sought to develop a new solution.

Currently, Germ’s service operates through the creation of a “magic link” that is automatically generated and pasted into your Bluesky bio.
Without the need to acquire a new app from the App Store, another Bluesky user on iOS can engage in a conversation with you instantaneously by clicking this link.
Germ capitalizes on an underutilized Apple technology known as App Clips, which enables users to execute a portion of an application’s code on their device without installing the entire application. This enables Germ to achieve its objectives.

Currently, App Clips are employed for a variety of one-time transactions, such as the payment of parking fees using a QR code. However, in the case of Germ, they permit brief conversations.
Although the user experience is straightforward, the technology that underpins it is not. The link is a cryptographic key that authenticates the user’s ATProto identity to affirm that the user is the person associated with the Bluesky alias.

The coupling feature was somewhat problematic in our experiments; however, we are currently operating on the iOS 26 developer beta, which may be providing additional complications.
In order to resolve the issue, we initiated the conversation from the App Clip initially, prior to attempting to authenticate with the installed application.

Brown informs TechCrunch that she is enthusiastic about contributing to the Bluesky community, as the app’s expanding cultural influence has attracted prominent figures in U.S. politics, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and other representatives, senators, and governors, to become members.
Brown is optimistic that Germ’s protocol will be more widely adopted by Bluesky and other organizations in the future, as Germ is currently ahead of the Bluesky team in the development of encrypted messaging technology.

Although the Germ app is currently available for free, it may subsequently introduce a premium subscription enhancement that provides more sophisticated services, such as private AI services and personalization tools.
The four-person venture has secured pre-seed funding from angel investors, including a co-author of MLS and other trust and safety experts. K5 Global and Mozilla Ventures are examples of institutional investors.

In the future, the organization intends to raise additional funds to develop an Android version.