Bluesky, the Twitter-like social media platform that emerged as an alternative for X users who had become frustrated with Elon Musk’s ownership of the platform, is having a second wind.
When Mr. Musk bought X — then called Twitter — in October 2022, competitors like Mastodon and Hive Social received a rush of new users. Other competitors came on the scene later, including Threads and Bluesky, and were welcomed with surging sign-up requests.
Since the 2024 presidential election, Bluesky has added millions of new users, its chief executive said.
Whether you’ve left X for a new home or simply want to understand one of the most downloaded free apps, here is what you need to know about Bluesky.
What is Bluesky?
Bluesky is a desktop and app-based social network that operates similarly to X. Users can post text, videos and photos, reply to one another and share other users’ posts. The early version of Bluesky required users to be invited to the platform, but now anyone with an email address can create an account.
How do I post?
Similar to X, Bluesky users can write a post by clicking a large, blue button that says “New Post” with a pen-and-paper icon next to it. The posts are on the shorter side, with a 300-character limit, and they can include video and photos.
Bluesky messages are called “posts,” although there is a push — controversial to some — to call Bluesky’s posts “skeets.”
Feeds use a mix of algorithm-driven content and personalization.
At the top of the page, users can toggle among feeds featuring posts from the people they follow and a second Discover feed.
Discover is an algorithm-driven page that operates like the “for you” pages on TikTok or X and shows you popular posts from users you may not be following based on your previous activity on the platform.
You can really personalize your feeds by using lists, feeds and “Starter Packs,” said Emily Liu, a communications director for Bluesky.
Lists are meant to group together accounts based on a user’s interests. To make a list, click on the checklist symbol on the left side. Name your list — for example, “Portland Sports” — and start finding relevant people and organizations (the columnist John Canzano, for example, or the Portland Trailblazers) to add to that list.
Feeds let you tailor kind of posts you see to a topic or keyword. Want to see more about pizza? You can find a litany of pizza-related feeds filled with pizza photos, pizza memes and the occasional review of the film “Licorice Pizza”. Like lists, feeds are found on the left side control panel.
“You can think of Feeds as superpowered hashtags or lists,” Ms. Liu said.
Starter Packs are similar to lists but are targeted for people to share groups with their followers. Users will often have their own Starter Packs tailored to their interests that their fans may enjoy. When their followers join the pack, everyone will see the same posts in that pack.
Bluesky will feel familiar to an X user.
The Bluesky layout will feel familiar to an X user. After all, Jack Dorsey, the former chief executive of Twitter, helped develop Bluesky.
The control panels on the left side of the platforms are nearly identical, both in function and appearance. The scroll mechanics feel similar. Both apps use light blue and white color schemes.
Bluesky users can block, mute and report accounts. But because Bluesky calls itself “an open and public network,” users cannot make their posts private from other Bluesky users without blocking them individually.
How do I get verified or find my friends?
Bluesky does not use the same check mark system that Meta or X uses for verification. Meta and X give users a check mark if they’ve reached a certain status or pay for a subscription. On Bluesky, users verify their status through links to their own websites.
There is no easy way to find your Instagram or Facebook friends on Bluesky, Ms. Liu said. But some independent developers have built workarounds, including a browser extension called Sky Follower Bridge.
What Bluesky is missing for some users.
Freddy Nager, an associate professor at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, said sports news remained a big draw for X users. Many of the accounts that break sports news — Adam Schefter and Shams Charania of ESPN and Ian Rapoport of the N.F.L. Network, for example — are not yet on Bluesky. Bot accounts mirror their X posts on Bluesky.
An alert button on X profiles allows users to stay updated on the latest news. A draft button allows an X user to save a post for later posting. Alerts and drafts aren’t on Bluesky right now.
X also recently installed a “views” counter that Bluesky does not have.
In May, The Verge reported that Mr. Dorsey had left Bluesky. He posted a message on his X account that appeared to recommend that people stay on Twitter.
“Don’t depend on corporations to grant you rights,” he wrote on X one day before Bluesky confirmed his exit from the board. “Defend them yourself using freedom technology. (you’re on one.)”
There are also glitches, including bright flashing images that sometimes appear when a user scrolls through the “likes” section. The official Bluesky account said that it worked through some performance issues on Wednesday night but that an issue on the site’s Discover page was persisting.
The post So You’re Thinking of Leaving X for Bluesky. How Does It Work? appeared first on New York Times.
