The relatively new social media platform Bluesky is gaining traction as more users leave X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, which critics label a toxic space under Elon Musk’s leadership.

After Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022, he aimed to reshape it to align with his view of “absolute free speech.” This shift led various social media platforms, both established and new, to compete for users seeking to exit X. Notable alternatives like Mastodon and Instagram’s Threads emerged early in the competition but failed to become the main rival to X.

Under Musk’s management, changes included limiting the block feature and introducing a paid verification subscription. He’s also been outspoken in endorsing right-wing views and President-elect Donald Trump, which some users find unsettling. Detractors point to the rise of misinformation, conspiracy theories, harassment, hate speech, and the allowance of extremist groups on the platform.

The political climate during the elections intensified these frustrations, leading many users to abandon the platform, especially after Trump appointed Musk to a role in his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

This surge of discontent has significantly benefitted Bluesky, leading to millions of new user registrations. Here’s a closer look at the platform.

Bluesky Sees Massive User Growth Post-Election

The political landscape and Musk’s ongoing changes have motivated many users to switch platforms after the recent elections.

While Election Day spurred increased activity, X experienced a net loss of over 115,000 accounts the following day, marking the highest number of deactivations since Musk’s takeover, based on data from Similarweb provided to NBC News.

Conversely, Bluesky welcomed over 2.5 million new users in the week after the elections, as reported by spokesperson Emily Liu. Currently, the platform boasts over 20.7 million users, according to a metric shared by Bluesky employees (bcounter.nat.vg), averaging about 8 signups per second.

Liu noted that user engagement metrics are hitting new highs on the platform, including likes and follows:

“Users are sharing that they’re experiencing greater interaction (and higher-quality interaction) on Bluesky compared to other platforms, even if they have more followers elsewhere. Most importantly, they’re enjoying their time on the platform!”

In contrast to the flight of high-profile users, including celebrities like Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Lemon, Lizzo, and Stephen King, as well as media outlet The Guardian with its considerable following, X reportedly saw a record of 942 million posts across the globe and a 15.5% increase in user registrations on Election Day and the subsequent day.

What Is Bluesky?

Bluesky is a social media app that primarily operates similarly to X (formerly Twitter), allowing users to share brief messages (up to 300 characters), images, and videos. Users can repost, reply to, quote, and like posts on the platform.

“In contrast to other closed platforms, Bluesky functions as an open social network that empowers users with choice, offers developers freedom, and grants creators independence from centralized services,” Liu explained.

Initially, Bluesky was a Twitter project aimed at decentralizing user control, conceived by then-CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2019. It became its own platform in 2021 and was available to the public as an invite-only beta in 2023, before becoming publicly accessible in February 2024.

Ownership of Bluesky

While the concept originated with Dorsey, he stepped down from the board of directors in May and deactivated his account.

Bluesky is currently partly owned by CEO Jay Graber, with a board that includes Jabber creator Jeremie Miller, Techdirt founder Mike Masnick, and Blockchain Capital partner Kinjal Shah.