Is the grass greener on the opposite aspect? We’re unsure, however the sky is most definitely bluer. It’s been two years since Elon Musk bought Twitter, now X, main folks to arrange store on various platforms. Mastodon, Publish, Pebble (two of which have already shuttered operations) and Spill have been introduced as potential replacements, however few except for Meta’s Threads have achieved the velocity of development Bluesky has reached.
As of November 2024, Bluesky has surpassed 20 million customers. Its development stems from a number of coverage adjustments at X, together with a closely criticized change to the block function and permitting third social gathering corporations to practice their AI on customers’ posts, which helped the app soar to the high of the U.S. App Retailer. Bluesky additionally noticed an enormous increase following the outcomes of the 2024 U.S. presidential election (which additionally contributed to an X exodus by Taylor Swift followers). However whereas the quantity is promising, the community has quite a lot of catching as much as do to compete with Threads’ 275 million month-to-month lively customers.
Beneath, we’ve compiled the solutions to a number of the commonest questions customers have about Bluesky. And for those who’ve made the swap, you’ll be able to comply with TechCrunch right here.
What’s Bluesky?
Bluesky is a decentralized social app conceptualized by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and developed in parallel with Twitter. The social community has a Twitter-like person interface with algorithmic alternative, a federated design and community-specific moderation.
Bluesky is utilizing an open supply framework constructed in-house, the AT Protocol, that means folks exterior of the corporate have transparency into how it’s constructed and what’s being developed.
Dorsey launched the Bluesky mission again in 2019 whereas he was nonetheless Twitter CEO. On the time, he mentioned Twitter could be funding a “small independent team of up to five open source architects, engineers, and designers,” charged with constructing a decentralized normal for social media, with the unique aim that Twitter would undertake this normal itself. However that was earlier than Elon Musk purchased the platform, so Bluesky is totally divorced from X.
As of Could 2024, Dorsey is now not on Bluesky’s board. Bluesky is now an unbiased public profit company led by CEO Jay Graber.
How do you utilize Bluesky?
Upon signing up, customers can create a deal with which is then represented as @username.bsky.social in addition to a show title that seems extra outstanding in daring textual content. In the event you’re so inclined, you’ll be able to flip a website title that you just personal into your username — so, for instance, I’m recognized on Bluesky as @amanda.omg.lol.
The app itself capabilities very similar to a bare-bones X, the place you’ll be able to click on a plus button to create a publish of 256 characters, which may additionally embody images. Posts themselves may be replied to, retweeted, favored and, from a three-dot menu, reported, shared through the iOS Share Sheet to different apps, or copied as textual content.
You’ll be able to seek for and comply with different people, then view their updates in your “Home” timeline. Beforehand, the Bluesky app would function widespread posts in a “What’s Hot” feed. That feed has since been changed with an algorithmic and personalised “Discover” feed that includes extra than simply trending content material.
For brand new customers, Bluesky launched a “Starter Pack” function, which creates a curated record of individuals and customized feeds to comply with so as to discover fascinating content material proper out of the gate.
Person profiles include the identical kind of options you’d anticipate: a profile pic, background, bio, metrics and the way many individuals they’re following. Profile feeds are divided into two sections, like X: posts and posts & replies.
There may be additionally a “Discover” tab within the backside heart of the app’s navigation, which gives extra “who to follow” ideas and a operating feed of just lately posted Bluesky updates.
We’ve additionally put collectively a useful information on tips on how to use Bluesky right here.
Who’s on Bluesky?
By the start of July 2023, when Instagram’s Threads launched, Bluesky topped one million downloads throughout iOS and Android. Notable figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mark Cuban, Dril, Bizarre Al Yankovic, and even Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva have migrated to Bluesky. It’s additionally dwelling to information organizations like Bloomberg, The Washington Publish, and naturally, TechCrunch! Since August 2024, Bluesky can be now permitting heads of state to enroll and be part of the platform for the primary time.
Does Bluesky work identical to X?
In some ways, sure. Up till just lately, Bluesky didn’t have DMs like X, however that has since been applied. Nevertheless, DMs on Bluesky are at the moment restricted to one-to-one messages, not group messages. Bluesky has additionally mentioned it’s fascinated with implementing one thing much like X’s Neighborhood Notes function. Moreover, X doesn’t use a decentralized protocol like ActivityPub or AT.
In October 2024, Elon Musk introduced that X’s block function would work in another way than it has prior to now. The brand new block performance permits customers you may have blocked to view your posts and your profile, however not the flexibility to work together together with your posts. Some customers imagine this replace to be a security concern, resulting in an inflow in Bluesky sign-ups as its block function is extra conventional.
In one other transfer that separates Bluesky from X, the social community mentioned it has “no intention” of utilizing person content material to coach generative AI instruments as X applied a brand new phrases of service that permits the platform to practice AI fashions on public posts.
Whereas Bluesky was initially kicked off as a mission convened by Jack Dorsey in 2019 when he was CEO of Twitter, the social app has been an unbiased firm since its inception in 2021.
Is Bluesky free?
Sure, and it’s now open to the general public.
How does Bluesky earn a living?
Bluesky’s aim is to search out one other means to maintain its community exterior of promoting with paid providers, so it will possibly stay free to finish customers. On July 5, 2023, Bluesky introduced extra seed spherical funding and a paid service that gives customized domains for finish customers who need to have a singular area as their deal with on the service. Bluesky has additionally emphasised that it doesn’t need to “require selling user data for ads” so as to monetize its platform.
In November 2024, Bluesky introduced it raised a $15 million Sequence A spherical and is growing a subscription service for premium options like “higher quality video uploads or profile customizations.” Bluesky, nevertheless, famous its subscription mannequin is not going to comply with within the footsteps of X’s “pay to win” premium choices.
Is Bluesky decentralized?
Sure. Bluesky’s group is growing the decentralized AT Protocol, which Bluesky was constructed atop. In its beta part, customers can solely be part of the bsky.social community, however Bluesky plans to be federated, that means that infinite individually operated communities can exist inside the open supply community. So, if a developer exterior of Bluesky constructed their very own new social app utilizing the AT Protocol, Bluesky customers may soar over to the brand new app and port over their current followers, deal with and information.
“You’ll always have the freedom to choose (and to exit) instead of being held to the whims of private companies or black box algorithms. And wherever you go, your friends and relationships will be there too,” a Bluesky weblog publish defined.
Is Bluesky safe?
In October 2023, Bluesky added e mail verification as half of a bigger effort to enhance account safety and authentication on the community. The addition is a vital step ahead by way of making Bluesky extra aggressive with bigger networks like X, which have extra sturdy safety controls. In December 2023, Bluesky allowed customers to decide out of a change that may expose their posts to the general public net following backlash from customers.
Is Bluesky customizable?
Sure. In Could 2023, Bluesky launched customized algorithms, which it calls “custom feeds.” Customized feeds permit customers to subscribe to a number of totally different algorithms that showcase totally different sorts of posts a person could need to see. You’ll be able to pin customized feeds that may present up on the high of your timeline as totally different tabs to choose from. The feeds you pin, or save, are situated below the “My Feeds” menu within the app’s sidebar.
In March 2024, the corporate introduced “AT Protocol Grants,” a brand new program that may dole out small grants to builders so as to foster development and customization. One of many recipients, SkyFeed, is a customized instrument that lets anybody construct their very own feeds utilizing a graphical person interface.
Is Bluesky on iOS and Android?
Sure. Bluesky rolled out to Android customers on April 20 and was initially launched to iOS customers in late February. Customers can entry Bluesky on the internet right here.
How does Bluesky sort out misinformation?
After an October 2023 replace, the app will now warn customers of deceptive hyperlinks by flagging them. If hyperlinks shared in customers’ posts don’t match their textual content, the app will provide a “possibly misleading” warning to the person to alert them that the hyperlink could also be directing them someplace they don’t need to go.
Has Bluesky had any controversies?
Bluesky has been embattled with moderation points since its first launch. The app has been accused of failing to guard its marginalized customers and failing to average racist content material. Following an issue concerning the app permitting racial slurs in account handles, pissed off customers initiated a “posting strike,” the place they refused to interact with the platform till it established guardrails to flag slurs and different offensive phrases in usernames.
What moderation options does Bluesky have?
A December 2023 publish from the Bluesky Security account introduced a big batch of moderation updates.
Bluesky is rolling out “more advanced automated tooling” designed to flag content material that violates its Neighborhood Tips that may then be reviewed by the app’s moderation group.
Bluesky launched moderation options much like ones on X, together with person lists and moderation lists, the latter of which can be utilized to mute or block many customers directly. The app can be growing a function that lets customers restrict who can reply to posts.
Some Bluesky customers are nonetheless advocating for the flexibility to set their accounts to personal — a function they’ve an elevated want for after Bluesky introduced it will launch a public net interface.
In March 2024, the corporate launched Ozone, a instrument that lets customers create and run their very own unbiased moderation providers that may give customers “unprecedented control” over their social media expertise.
What’s the distinction between Bluesky and Mastodon?
Although Bluesky’s structure is much like Mastodon’s, many customers have discovered Bluesky to be extra intuitive, whereas Mastodon can come off as inaccessible: Selecting which occasion to hitch looks like an unattainable job on Mastodon, and longtime customers are very defensive about their established posting norms, which may make becoming a member of the dialog intimidating. To stay aggressive, Mastodon just lately simplified its sign-up stream, making mastodon.social the default server for brand spanking new customers.
Nevertheless, the launch of federation will make it work extra equally to Mastodon in that customers can decide and select which servers to hitch and transfer their accounts round at will.
Who owns Bluesky?
Although Jack Dorsey funded Bluesky, he isn’t concerned in day-to-day growth and now not sits on the corporate’s board. The CEO of Bluesky is Jay Graber, who beforehand labored as a software program engineer for the cryptocurrency Zcash, then based an event-planning web site referred to as Occurring.
If in case you have extra FAQs about Bluesky not lined right here, depart us a remark under.
