Periwinkle Offers Managed Hosting for Bluesky's AT Protocol

The Berlin-based startup provides infrastructure for running your own social media on your own domain.

Published on Mar. 9, 2026

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Periwinkle, a Berlin-based startup, is offering a new way for people to leave centralized social media platforms operated by big tech companies. The company provides infrastructure and managed hosting services for running your own social media account on your own domain, using the open-source AT Protocol that powers the Bluesky alternative social network.

Why it matters

This offering from Periwinkle provides an alternative to relying on large tech companies for social media, allowing users to own and control their own online presence and data. As the Bluesky network continues to grow, Periwinkle's managed hosting services could make it easier for non-technical users to participate in decentralized social media.

The details

Periwinkle allows users to set up a social media account on their own domain, with the company handling the backend infrastructure like server maintenance, backups, and updates. Users can store their posts, follows, and profile data on their own Personal Data Server (PDS) as part of the AT Protocol. Periwinkle offers domain registration, hosting plans starting at $4/month, and custom enterprise options. The company aims to add more features like automated post deletion and archiving in the future.

  • Periwinkle was founded in 2026.
  • The company is currently self-funded, though founder Charles Blumenthal has been speaking with investors in Europe.

The players

Periwinkle

A Berlin-based startup offering managed hosting services for running your own social media account on your own domain, using the open-source AT Protocol.

Charles Blumenthal

The founder of Periwinkle, a former software engineer at McKinsey who came up with the idea for the company after realizing many people didn't understand the advantages of the AT Protocol.

Bluesky

An alternative social network that uses the open-source AT Protocol, which now has more than 43 million registered users.

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What they’re saying

“We'll be the first-to-market fully managed PDS service; there is nobody else that is doing this right now.”

— Charles Blumenthal, Founder, Periwinkle (TechCrunch)

“It's really not a great idea that a couple of billionaires have control over the way billions of people communicate. If you could leave Twitter to some competitor and all of your followers and all of your content and everything — it just is there with you, and you just log in — you would do it right?”

— Charles Blumenthal, Founder, Periwinkle (TechCrunch)

What’s next

Periwinkle plans to continue expanding its offerings, including adding more features like automated post deletion and archiving tools. The company is also looking to bring on additional employees, such as another engineer and someone to handle communications and marketing.

The takeaway

Periwinkle's managed hosting services for the AT Protocol provide an alternative to relying on centralized social media platforms, allowing users to own and control their online presence and data. As decentralized social networks like Bluesky continue to grow, Periwinkle's offering could make it easier for non-technical users to participate in this emerging ecosystem.