Abandoning Elon Musk's X, users favour Bluesky over Meta's Threads

Once backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Bluesky has overtaken Threads in daily active users. Meta's decision to de-emphasise political content has alienated users seeking political discussions

Bluesky, a social media platform once backed by Jack Dorsey, is emerging as a formidable competitor to Meta’s Threads, as users flee Elon Musk’s X platform. Bluesky has seen an extraordinary surge in popularity, particularly after the November 5 elections in the US that saw Republican candidate former President Donald Trump win the presidential race.

 

According to data from Similarweb, as reported by The Financial Times, Bluesky’s daily active users have soared to 3.5 million, marking a 300 per cent increase since Election Day. This places the platform just 1.5 times behind Threads, which previously had five times more active users earlier this month.

 

 

With this sharp rise in daily active users and a commitment to fostering public discourse, Bluesky is rapidly closing the gap with Threads and positioning itself as a new hub for politically engaged users.

 

What is Bluesky?

Bluesky is a decentralised social media platform envisioned by Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter. First conceptualised in 2019 while Dorsey was leading Twitter, Bluesky operates independently and aims to reimagine how social networks function by prioritising user control and transparency.  

 

It provides a Twitter-like experience where users can post short messages of up to 300 characters, along with images and videos. Features such as reposting, replying, quoting, and liking posts make the platform instantly familiar to social media enthusiasts. These features have made it a popular choice among the so-called ‘Politically Engaged Email Job Blob’ – a group that played a pivotal role in shaping early Twitter.

 

The platform uses the authenticated transfer (AT) Protocol, an open-source framework developed in-house. This protocol allows users to choose or create servers that suit their preferences.

 

As of November 2024, Bluesky has garnered over 20 million users, according to a report by TechCrunch. In May 2024, Bluesky transitioned to being an independent public benefit corporation, now led by CEO Jay Graber, with Jack Dorsey stepping down from its board.

 

Why do users prefer Bluesky over Threads?

Bluesky’s rise is attributed to an influx of journalists, academics, left-leaning politicians, and companies seeking an alternative to Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter). Many have been drawn to Bluesky’s decentralised approach and emphasis on free expression, particularly as X scales back content moderation.

 

Threads, launched by Meta in July 2023, initially attracted a vast user base, but its growth has slowed significantly. Meta’s decision to de-emphasise political content on its platforms, including Instagram and Threads, has alienated users seeking political debate on social media. According to The Financial Times report, critics argue that this move was designed to avoid controversy and gain favour with President-elect Donald Trump, who had previously criticised Meta for allegedly censoring conservative voices.

 

Unlike Threads, Bluesky allows users to curate custom feeds tailored to specific interests, a feature Threads only recently introduced.

 

Bluesky: A growing platform

While Bluesky has gained popularity in recent weeks, the platform is still in its early stages. Bluesky faces challenges, including technical glitches, outages, and the emergence of scammers. With a lean team of just 20 full-time staff, the platform is navigating the growing pains of scaling its operations.

 

Meta’s response

In response to Bluesky’s rise, Meta has rolled out several updates to Threads, including custom feed options and a renewed focus on improving real-time event timelines. Meta has emphasised its commitment to serving Threads’ 275 million users and introducing new features to retain its community.