Bluesky reaches 20 million users

Bluesky, the decentralized social media platform, has reached an impressive milestone, surpassing 20 million users as it experiences explosive growth. Since its official launch in February 2023, Bluesky has steadily gained traction, but its recent surge has been particularly noteworthy. Within the last three months, the platform’s user base has tripled, fueled by a combination of strategic innovations, user dissatisfaction with rival platforms, and growing momentum in the social media landscape.

we did it! 🥳

[image or embed]

— Samuel (@samuel.bsky.team) 19 Kasım 2024 16:55

Bluesky’s trajectory accelerated dramatically following the U.S. presidential election earlier this month. On November 7, the day after the election, the platform saw a significant uptick in new users, adding more than one million accounts in just 24 hours. This wave of growth pushed its user count from 15 million to 20 million within days. According to research firm SimilarWeb, app usage in the U.S. skyrocketed by 519% during this period, with a similar surge of 350% in the U.K. These numbers illustrate a clear migration from Elon Musk’s X, as users seek a refuge from toxicity, misinformation, and controversial policy changes.

Bluesky’s ascent comes as X, formerly known as Twitter, grapples with a steady decline in users. Reports indicate that X’s global user base dropped from 611 million in April to 586 million in September. In the U.S. and U.K., dissatisfaction with X’s atmosphere—marked by bots, hate speech, and polarization—has driven many users to seek alternatives like Bluesky. The platform’s focus on user-friendly policies and community-driven content has made it particularly appealing. For instance, Bluesky recently pledged not to use user content for AI training, a stark contrast to X’s controversial privacy policies.

The competitive landscape also includes Meta’s Threads, which recently surpassed 275 million monthly users. Despite Threads’ dominance, Bluesky has shown resilience, narrowing the gap in daily active users and outperforming Threads in app store rankings. Bluesky is currently the top free app on both Apple’s App Store and Google Play, a testament to its growing popularity.

Bluesky’s commitment to continuous innovation has been another driver of its success. Recent feature additions include video attachments, customizable fonts, direct messaging, and the ability to pin posts. The platform also plans to introduce premium options, such as higher-quality video uploads, while maintaining its core promise to remain free for all users. Unlike X, Bluesky has resisted introducing intrusive ads, a move CEO Jay Graber emphasizes as essential to preserving the platform’s integrity.

Bluesky’s success also reflects its ability to provide a sense of community that many users feel has been lost on X. Media scholar Axel Bruns notes that Bluesky has become a haven for those seeking a social media experience reminiscent of Twitter’s early days, free from extreme content and polarizing discourse. This shift has positioned Bluesky as a platform where conversations can flourish without interference from bots or corporate agendas.