Bluesky Inches Closer to 15 Million Users

Bluesky has now crossed 14.7 million users, the company told The New York Times yesterday. The Twitter/X alternative added almost 2 million new members since it reported 13 million users on October 24, and the company also said that it saw the creation one million new accounts since the recent US elections.

“We’re seeing increased activity levels across all different forms of engagement,” said a Bluesky spokesperson in an email to the NYT. The majority of these new users are said to be coming from the US, Canada, and Britain.

Bluesky remains far smaller than Meta’s Threads, which now has over 275 million monthly active users. However, Bluesky is probably better at replicating the old-school Twitter experience that was lost after Elon Musk took over the company.

Unlike Threads and X, Bluesky doesn’t try to push an algorithmic feed on users who prefer a reverse chronological feed. The platform actually offers algorithmic choice with custom feeds built by independent third-party developers. Bluesky also offers some unique features, such as the ability to use a custom domain as a username on the platform.

Last month, the Bluesky team teased the upcoming launch of a premium subscription with more features for power users. The company is currently looking at higher quality video uploads and new profile customization options for paid members. However, the app will remain free to use and posts from paid users won’t get more exposure on the platform.