Bluesky App Trends After Elon Musk’s X (Twitter) Tweaks Its Block Settings
Bluesky, a social media platform founded by Twitter co-creator Jack Dorsey, has seen a dramatic surge in user growth following the November 5 election of President-elect Donald Trump. As of November 22, Bluesky’s daily U.S. user base climbed to 3.5 million, marking a 500% increase since Trump’s victory. This surge has pushed Bluesky ahead of Meta’s Threads in total user numbers, although Threads still leads in daily app engagement.
The platform, which launched in 2019, offers features similar to X, formerly Twitter, but has positioned itself as a haven for users seeking stricter content moderation and a more controlled digital environment. Bluesky CEO Jay Graber noted in a statement on November 20 that the app has been gaining “about a million users daily” and highlighted its mission to give users tools to customize their social media experience.
Bluesky’s rapid expansion is partly attributed to disillusionment among users of X. Since Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform, his controversial policies, including reduced content moderation and reinstating previously banned accounts, have driven many journalists, academics, and left-leaning public figures to seek alternatives. High-profile departures from X include companies like Target, media outlets such as The Guardian, and celebrities like Barbra Streisand, Don Lemon, and Bradley Whitford.
The political climate also appears to have influenced migration patterns. After Musk’s platform faced suspension in Brazil in September for regulatory violations, Bluesky gained 3 million new users in a single week. Additional spikes occurred after Musk announced controversial changes allowing blocked users to view posts from those who had blocked them.
Despite its growth, Bluesky faces challenges. Technical glitches and outages have caused frustration among its user base, and questions remain about its long-term viability as a business. Graber remains optimistic, emphasizing that Bluesky’s design aims to prioritize user satisfaction over rapid monetization.
Meanwhile, Meta’s Threads has seen a decline in political content as CEO Mark Zuckerberg focuses on less contentious subjects across Meta platforms. This shift has left Threads with 1.5 times the daily U.S. user base of Bluesky, down from a fivefold lead before Trump’s election win.
Bluesky’s rise signals a broader trend in the social media landscape, where platforms offering niche experiences are challenging tech giants. Whether Bluesky can maintain its momentum amid competition and internal hurdles will determine its place in the evolving digital ecosystem.
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