Since the high-profile changes at Twitter (now X), professionals in media and communications are paying closer attention to alternative platforms, particularly those built around transparency, openness, and user control. Among these, Bluesky stands out as a leading decentralized contender.
While Meta’s Threads continues to challenge X in total users and gains traction for real-time news updates, Bluesky has carved out its own niche. Though its explosive growth momentum has slowed, the platform continues building a dedicated community of users.
The platform now has 38 million total users, up from 30 million in March 2025. This represents steady growth from around 5 million users in August 2024, when interest surged as users began migrating away from X.
This guide explains what Bluesky is, how it works, and what its rise means for the future of digital communication.
Table of Contents:
- What is Bluesky?
- What makes Bluesky different?
- Why has Bluesky gained so much attention?
- What does “Decentralized” mean?
- Why are users leaving X for Bluesky?
- Who’s using Bluesky?
- How can Comms Pros use Bluesky today?
- Diversifying Your Social Media Strategy
- Preparing for the next wave of platform migration
- Challenges of monitoring Decentralized platforms
- What does the future look like for Bluesky?
- What this means for Marketing and Communications teams
- Final thoughts on Bluesky
- Bluesky FAQs
Key Takeaways:
- Bluesky is a decentralized social network built on the AT Protocol, designed to give users more control over data, feeds, and moderation.
- It was founded in 2019 by Jack Dorsey and launched publicly in 2024 as an alternative to Twitter/X.
- Bluesky offers unique features like custom feeds, algorithm transparency, and user-driven moderation tools.
- Its user base is growing quickly, with early adoption strong among journalists, technologists, and academic communities.
- For PR and communications teams, Bluesky offers niche opportunities for thought leadership, audience monitoring, and brand engagement.
What is Bluesky?
At first glance, Bluesky feels a lot like X. It features short posts, follower networks, and a scrolling timeline. But behind the scenes, its model is fundamentally different.
Launched in 2019 as a research project funded by Twitter, Bluesky was co-founded by Jack Dorsey to explore a user-controlled social experience. By 2021, it had spun off as an independent company with Jay Graber as CEO. In 2024, it opened its doors to the public during a period of major turmoil at Twitter/X.
What makes Bluesky different?
According to WIRED, Bluesky “is plotting a total takeover of the social internet,” reflecting its ambition to reshape how people communicate online.
Familiar Layout, New Capabilities
While Bluesky may resemble X in how it looks and operates, it introduces several new features designed to give users more control:
- Custom feeds that follow specific topics or themes
- Transparent algorithms that explain how content is ranked
- Moderation tools that let users control what they see and how they interact
- A policy of not using user content to train artificial intelligence models
- Domain-based verification, where individuals or brands can prove their identity using their own websites
These features reflect a broader shift toward transparency and personalization.
Bluesky vs X (Twitter)
| Feature | Bluesky | X (formerly Twitter) |
| Ownership & Governance | Independent and decentralized, built on the AT Protocol | Centralized and controlled by X Corp (formerly Twitter) |
| Data Control | Users maintain more control over their data and identity | Data governance is centralized under X Corp |
| Algorithm Transparency | Users can choose or create custom feeds and algorithms | Algorithm is proprietary and not customizable by users |
| Moderation | Community-driven moderation with user-configured tools | Moderation rules enforced centrally by the platform |
| Openness & Innovation | Built on an open-source protocol that encourages third-party innovation | Closed ecosystem with limited external integrations |
| Audience & Positioning | Smaller, growing niche communities such as journalists, technologists, and early adopters | Larger, mainstream, more commercialized user base |
Why has Bluesky gained so much attention?
The Twitter Exodus
After Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, the platform experienced rapid changes. Adjustments to content moderation, algorithm behavior, and verification systems left many users frustrated. Among their concerns:
- Reduced visibility for organic posts
- Declining engagement for brands and creators
- Unpredictable and inconsistent policy changes
In response, users began looking for alternatives that offered more control and predictability.
What drove Bluesky’s growth?
- Changes on mainstream platforms pushed users to explore new options
- High-profile users left Twitter, prompting their communities to follow
- News coverage highlighted Bluesky as a promising alternative
- Groups migrated together, building momentum through shared adoption
These events helped Bluesky grow from fewer than 100,000 invite-only users to over 20 million accounts. Its public launch in February 2024 was widely covered by media outlets, including TechCrunch.
What does “Decentralized” mean?
Decentralization means a shift in platform power. On mainstream platforms, a single company sets content and policy rules. Bluesky, by contrast, is decentralized, meaning:
- Decision-making is distributed across multiple entities
- Users can switch providers without losing their content or followers
- Community control helps avoid platform-level lock-in
How Bluesky uses the AT Protocol
Bluesky runs on something called the Authenticated Transfer Protocol (AT Protocol). This is a technical foundation designed to support decentralized social networks.
In simple terms, it gives users more control and flexibility. For example:
- People can take their data with them if they switch apps
- No single company makes all the rules or decisions
- Different services can work together, creating a more open system
This means users are not locked into one platform. They can move their accounts, customize their experience, and choose which provider to use, all while keeping their followers and content. The protocol is documented in its technical overview, which outlines its goals around federation and composability.
Why are users leaving X for Bluesky?
Many users are leaving Bluesky after reporting frustration with:
- Inconsistent moderation policies
- Evolving verification systems
- Decreased reach for non-paying users
These issues make it harder for creators, brands, and journalists to maintain consistent engagement.
What users appreciate about Bluesky:
- Algorithmic transparency
- User-driven moderation
- Greater control over feeds
For communications professionals, Bluesky offers access to a more engaged, niche audience in a less cluttered environment.
Who’s using Bluesky?
Bluesky is particularly active among influential communities:
- Journalists from major outlets
- Tech professionals and industry analysts
- Academics specializing in media, digital rights, and policy
- Advocacy organizations focused on transparency and governance
Some high-profile users include public figures in policy, open-source development, and non-profit leadership. The platform’s structure makes it easier to surface posts from verified and relevant voices without paid promotion.
PR and Marketing opportunities
With fewer users and less noise, Bluesky offers a valuable space for early engagement. It can be easier to build credibility with thought leaders and niche communities while the platform is still growing.
How can Comms Pros use Bluesky today?
For PR and communications teams, Bluesky is emerging as a valuable space for audience monitoring, thought leadership, and early issue detection. Its community-driven design makes it a useful niche channel for testing narratives and engaging with influential early adopters.
At Onclusive, we analyse millions of social media posts every day across both established and emerging platforms, including Bluesky. This gives communications teams a uniquely data-driven perspective on how conversations start, spread, and influence brand perception.
By incorporating Bluesky into a broader social listening and engagement strategy, PR professionals can spot trends earlier, refine messaging in real time, and strengthen relationships with communities that often shape wider industry conversations. Although Bluesky’s reach is still growing, it provides niche opportunities for PR, marketing, and comms teams.
Key use cases for PR and Comms teams
- Audience Monitoring and Insight Gathering
Engage with early adopter communities in journalism, tech, and academia to uncover emerging issues before they spread more widely. - Thought Leadership and Executive Visibility
Use a less crowded space to amplify executive voices and build authority around topics like decentralized tech, governance, or AI ethics. - Media Relations
Build direct connections with journalists, share timely updates, and identify media opportunities in a more intimate environment.
Diversifying Your Social Media Strategy
Relying on one or two legacy platforms poses increasing risk. Algorithm changes, policy shifts, or ownership changes can disrupt engagement.
Adding Bluesky, even in a lightweight, exploratory way, reduces dependency on any one service. It also positions brands as forward-thinking and aligned with transparency, privacy, and user control.
Start with small steps:
- Claim and verify a brand handle
- Follow topic feeds relevant to the organization
- Observe patterns before deploying content
Including platforms like Bluesky supports greater digital resilience across an evolving digital environment.
Preparing for the next wave of Platform Migration
Bluesky may be top of mind now, but more decentralized, community-driven platforms are already emerging. Each will come with unique governance models, user norms, and behaviors.
For marketing and communications teams, this means preparing for fragmentation. Audiences are likely to distribute across multiple platforms, requiring agility, cross-platform monitoring, and proactive listening.
Platforms like Onclusive Social, with cross-channel monitoring tools, help organizations follow audience movement in real time rather than reacting after they’ve moved on.
Challenges of Monitoring Decentralized Platforms
Monitoring decentralized platforms like Bluesky is more complex than monitoring traditional social networks because their openness and user control make conversations harder to track consistently.
- Unlike traditional social networks, where one company controls the data and moderation rules, Bluesky’s structure is spread across multiple independent providers. Each one may use slightly different policies, tools, and access points. This makes it more difficult to get a consistent, real-time view of what is happening across the platform.
- Brand safety can also be harder to manage. Since content moderation is not centralized, it is challenging to apply uniform standards or spot emerging risks quickly. And because data is more distributed, discovering relevant posts or tracking where content spreads can take more work.
This makes it essential to work with tools and partners that understand the underlying technology. The right integrations can help deliver clear insights without compromising the principles of decentralization.
What does the future look like for Bluesky?
Platform Development Roadmap
Bluesky’s roadmap emphasizes stability, usability, and broader interoperability – the ability for different platforms and apps to work together seamlessly using the same underlying protocol.
As protocol adoption grows, Bluesky may become one of several interoperable networks users move between with ease.
Governance Structure Evolution
The platform is experimenting with community-informed moderation and rule-setting processes. These could influence how content standards are defined across federated networks – where multiple independently run services operate under the same shared protocol, rather than being controlled by a single central company. This model allows different communities to maintain their own norms while still participating in a connected ecosystem.
Regulatory Implications
Bluesky’s structure may test how regulators define accountability, content moderation, and data portability. Its development could influence how decentralized networks are addressed in future legislation, particularly across European markets.
What this means for Marketing and Communications teams
As decentralized platforms like Bluesky continue to evolve, they introduce both opportunity and complexity for measurement, audience segmentation, and campaign planning. Traditional engagement metrics may not apply in federated environments where visibility, algorithms, and interaction patterns vary across providers. Communications professionals must rethink how performance is tracked and understood across a fragmented ecosystem.
Developing flexible analytics strategies becomes crucial. Brands may need to combine quantitative data, such as follower counts or repost rates, with qualitative insight, including conversation tone and topical relevance. Tools that support cross-protocol monitoring, like Onclusive Social, will become increasingly important for capturing a holistic view of audience engagement.
Also, decentralization presents an opening to explore innovative storytelling formats, influencer partnerships, and grassroots engagement tactics that thrive in smaller, more specialized communities. The ability to tailor content and messaging to each network’s culture and expectations will be a defining factor in long-term success.
Bluesky is more than another social platform. It reflects a shift in how digital communities are built, moderated, and sustained.
Final thoughts on Bluesky
As the communications landscape continues to shift, platforms like Bluesky reflect broader changes in user expectations around transparency, control, and digital autonomy. For media and communications professionals, this represents a unique moment to observe and participate in the early stages of what could become a major shift in how digital communities are structured.
By approaching Bluesky not as a replacement for X, but as a complementary space for strategic engagement and insight gathering, brands and organizations can future-proof their social media strategies. As decentralized networks evolve, the lessons learned here will likely inform best practices across the next generation of platforms.
Bluesky FAQs:
What is Bluesky?
Bluesky is a decentralized social media platform built on the AT Protocol. It allows users to post short updates and follow others, much like Twitter/X, but with greater transparency and user control.
How does Bluesky work?
It operates using a federated system, where multiple service providers host different parts of the network. Users can move between these providers without losing their accounts or connections.
Is Bluesky decentralized?
Yes. Unlike platforms controlled by a single company, Bluesky distributes data and moderation across a network of providers.
Who is using Bluesky?
The platform has a growing community of journalists, technologists, researchers, and public policy experts. It currently has over 38 million registered users.
What are the risks of Bluesky?
The platform remains small compared to legacy services, and interoperability is still developing. Questions persist around moderation scalability and long-term funding models.