Updraft

Do I need to log in?

No. Updraft only reads public Bluesky data through the official public API. There’s no sign-in, no password, no account needed.

What happens to my data?

Updraft has no server of its own and no database. Your handle and the posts you look up go straight from your browser to Bluesky’s public API to fetch the numbers, which are then shown to you and forgotten when you close the tab. No account, no logging, nothing saved, nothing sold.

To be completely transparent: there is one ad at the bottom of the page, served by Google AdSense — that’s how Updraft stays free. Google’s ad system may set cookies and collect data about your visit under its own policies. That part is Google, not us — we don’t see it and can’t control it. You can switch off personalized ads any time at My Ad Center. Your Bluesky data is never part of any of that; it never leaves the conversation between your browser and Bluesky.

Why are there ads (and only one)?

I kept it to a single, low-impact ad at the bottom of the page — no pop-ups, no interstitials, no autoplay, nothing wedged between your results or chasing you down the page. Just one, out of the way. It covers the small running costs and keeps the whole tool free: no paywall, no “pro” tier locking away the useful parts, no account required. I’d rather everyone have it than squeeze a few people, and a quiet ad at the bottom is the lightest way I know to keep it that way.

What does “Explain a post” show?

For any public post, it pulls who reposted and quoted it, then ranks those accounts by follower count. You get the biggest amplifier, an estimate of total reach, how many boosters are verified, a breakdown by account size, and a plain-language verdict on whether one big account carried it or it spread as a broad wave.

What’s the “spark”?

Quote-posts carry timestamps, so we can spot the earliest sizeable account to quote the post — often the moment it started rolling. (Reposts don’t carry public timestamps, so the spark is based on quotes.)

What’s “Viral finder”?

It scans an account’s recent posts and surfaces the ones that most beat its own typical engagement — the genuine breakouts, not just the biggest numbers. Each ranks by “× typical” (a post’s reactions ÷ the account’s median post), with one click through to the autopsy to see why it took off. (Different from Top posts, which ranks by raw engagement.) All public data, no login.

What’s “Wrapped”?

A Spotify-Wrapped-style recap card for any account over the last 30 or 90 days: total reactions earned, how much they posted, their top post, when they’re loudest, and a grade. Built to share — it renders as a tall, story-format image. All public data, no login.

What’s “Compare”?

A friendly head-to-head between two accounts across seven categories — followers, engagement rate, average per post, how active they are, account age, biggest single post, and follower ratio. Each category has a winner, and whoever takes the most wins the matchup. Great for “me vs a friend.” All public data, no login.

What’s “Biggest fans”?

It scans an account’s recent posts and tallies who engaged most — the people liking, reposting, and quoting them — to surface that account’s top supporters, led by its #1 fan. Fans are ranked by how often they show up; ties go to stronger engagement (a quote counts for more than a like). All public data, no login. (Replies aren’t counted yet, and very busy accounts are read up to a sensible cap.)

What’s “Top interactions”?

The most notable accounts that engaged with an account’s recent posts — ranked by their own follower count, so the biggest names rise to the top (if Mark Hamill likes your post, he lands near #1). Pick a window of 1–30 days and choose which interactions count: likes, reposts, quotes, replies, or any mix. Different from Biggest fans, which ranks supporters by how often they show up — this one ranks by how big they are. Very busy accounts are read up to a sensible cap. All public data, no login.

What’s “Top followers”?

The biggest-name accounts that follow a handle — ranked by their own follower count. Unlike Top interactions, no engagement is needed: this looks at the whole audience, surfacing the most prominent people in it (and how many are verified). Different from Profile check, which lists the notable accounts a handle follows — this is who follows them. For accounts with a large following, it reads only the most recent ~1,000 followers — Bluesky returns followers newest-first with no way to sort by size, so a prominent follower from further back can be missed. Treat big accounts as a recent-followers sample, not an all-time list; for smaller accounts it covers everyone. All public data, no login.

What’s “Rate”?

A fun, shareable scorecard for any account: an overall score out of 100, a letter grade, an archetype (like Hidden Gem or The Steady Hand), and four sub-scores — Engagement, Consistency, Spark, and Reach. It’s deliberately size-fair: engagement counts relative to follower count, so a small account with an engaged audience can outscore a big quiet one. There’s no master leaderboard to rank against, so the scores come from each account’s own public numbers on tuned curves — treat it as a fun snapshot, not a verdict.

What’s in “Account overview”?

A one-look snapshot of any account: followers, following, follower/following ratio, total posts, account age, and average engagement per post. Plus its posting rhythm — roughly how often it posts and a heatmap of which days and hours it’s most active (in your local time), drawn from its recent posts.

What’s “Profile check”?

A read of two things at once. Who they follow: their follow posture (broadcaster, networker, curator, or selective), the most notable accounts they follow ranked by follower count (their “influences”), and how many of their follows are verified. How they post: the mix of original posts vs. replies vs. reposts, what share of originals carry an image or a link, the hashtags and link domains they use most, posting rhythm, and average post length. It’s all deterministic — every figure traces to a public count or a simple frequency tally, no AI guessing what someone is “about.” Very busy accounts are read up to a sensible cap (the first several hundred follows), and the report says when a cap was hit. All public data, no login.

Why might numbers look approximate?

For very viral posts we read up to the most recent ~1,000 reposters and ~600 quotes to stay fast and be a good neighbor to Bluesky’s servers. When that cap is hit, the report says so. For the vast majority of posts, it’s everything.

Can I save or share a report?

Every result has a row of buttons: Share image (a clean PNG card, straight to your phone’s share sheet or a download), Copy image, Copy link (a link that reopens the exact report), Print, and a Download menu for PNG, CSV, or JSON.

Is this allowed / fair use?

Yes — it reads only public data, adds polite delays, and backs off if Bluesky asks it to. It never automates follows, likes, or any action on your behalf.

Wasn’t this called Heartland Sky?

It was. Same tool, same maker, new name — Updraft (formerly Heartland Sky). The old name didn’t really say “analytics,” and the soft baby-blue look undersold a fairly sharp set of tools. Updraft is the rising air that lifts a bird without it flapping — which is exactly what this does: it shows you what lifted a post and who carried it. Nothing about how it works changed: still no login, still nothing stored, still just public Bluesky data. Old /heartland/ links redirect here automatically.

Who made this?

Built by Wellborn — follow me on Bluesky. Questions or bugs: tom.wellborn@gmail.com. Like it? The Share this app buttons (top-right and footer) help spread the word.