What you need to know about Bluesky – and how it compares to X

On November 15, 2024By Littum

Upper line

Bluesky, a text-based social media platform functionally similar to (and even sharing the same co-founder with) X, formerly known as Twitter, is surging in user numbers as X users flee the Elon Musk-owned platform after former President Donald Trump won the election and recruited Musk to lead a government efficiency department.

Bluesky increased in membership this week. (Photo illustration by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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Key facts

Bluesky was conceived as a research project to “decentralize” Twitter by its then-CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2019, eventually launching as its own company in 2021 and opening to the public in a beta phase in 2023.

Bluesky now acts as a “decentralized” social media platform, which means that users can create their own servers on which they can store data and set their own rules, instead of using servers owned by the company.

Many of the features on Bluesky are similar to those on X, including the ability to make text-based posts with a 256-character limit (known as “skeets”) that can also include photos and videos, reposting, and like other posts and replies to other users.

Users can follow other people to compose their own timeline and send users direct messages, just like on X.

Bluesky users can also block each other, an attractive feature for users who have criticized Musk’s changes to X blocking functionwhich now makes an X user’s post visible to everyone else, including those they have blocked.

Bluesky has a moderation team to enforce community guidelines— which prohibits the promotion of “hate or extremist behavior”, a common criticism of X under Musk—and lets users use a collaborative moderation tool called Ozone to moderate communities on the platform.

News Peg

Bluesky has added more than 1.5 million new users over the past week, company spokeswoman Emily Liu told Forbes. The influx of Bluesky sign-ups has coincided with Trump’s victory as Musk, an increasingly vocal right-wing figure, has emerged as a key Trump ally. Trump announced that Musk would co-head the new Department of Government Efficiency with Vivek Ramaswamy.

How does Bluesky’s user experience compare to X?

Although Bluesky’s user base is increasing, it still lags far behind X. Liu told Forbes that Bluesky has about 14.5 million total users, while X said in March, around 250 million people use the social platform every day.

Which notable users have migrated to Bluesky?

The Guardian news organization announced that its dozens of X accounts, across which it has around 27 million followers, would cease operations. “We believe that the benefits of being at X are now outweighed by the negatives,” the organization said in a columnthat says the platform promotes “far-right conspiracy theories and racism.” Celebrities with large followings this week, including journalist Don Lemon and actress Jamie Lee Curtis, announced they would be leaving X. Other celebrities left after Musk took over the platform in 2022, including Elton John, Whoopi Goldberg, Gigi Hadid and Shonda Rhimes.

Surprising facts

Dorsey has distanced himself from Bluesky, confirming in May that he had left the company’s board, months after he deleted his personal Bluesky account. Dorsey instead praised X as “freedom technology” that apparently encourages users to stay on the platform. “We sincerely thank Jack for his help in funding and initiating the Bluesky project. Today, Bluesky is flourishing as an open source social network running on atproto, the decentralized protocol we built,” the official Bluesky account wrote. Dorsey’s comments were a shift from last year, when he openly criticized Muskand said he had not “acted right” and the platform went “south” after he took over.

Crucial quote

“Our online experience doesn’t have to depend on billionaires unilaterally making decisions about what we see. On an open social network like Bluesky, you can shape your experience yourself.” says Bluesky on its website — a possible dig at Musk’s ownership of X.

Key background

Bluesky’s user numbers only increased last year when the app opened a beta version to select users who were given an invite code. Many of the users who migrated to the platform had become frustrated with Musk’s various changes to X, including his rebranding and rebranding of the platform, controversial overhaul of the verification process, and his relaxation of moderation guidelines — which critics say has allowed misinformation and hate speech to proliferate.

Forbes valuation

We estimate Musk’s net worth at $300.9 billion, making him the richest person in the world. Dorsey ranks No. 669 on the Real-Time Billionaires List with an estimated net worth of $5 billion. Ramaswamy just tops the ranks of the world’s billionaires with an estimated net worth of around $1 billion.