Bluesky, a growing social media platform co-founded by Jack Dorsey and launched in 2021, has surpassed 10 million users.
This growth is largely attributed to a surge in users from Brazil following the shutdown of Elon Musk’s X in the country.
The company marked the occasion with a celebratory message, stating that its early adopters are part of this initial wave of 10 million users.
Interestingly, Bluesky has included a playful feature on its homepage – when users click on a celebration emoji, they can discover their unique joining number and share it with friends. This interactive element adds a personalised touch to the user experience.
The dramatic rise in Bluesky’s user base follows Brazil’s Supreme Court ruling that banned X, formerly Twitter, from operating in the country. Users were also fined for attempting to access the platform via VPNs.
In the wake of X’s exit, other social networks, including Bluesky and Meta’s Threads, saw a sharp increase in popularity, particularly within Brazil, where both apps now rank among the top 10 in app store ratings.
Bluesky reportedly gained over 3 million users within a matter of days after the X ban, bringing its total user base to more than 9 million earlier in the month. Notably, the majority of these new users, over 85%, hail from Brazil.
The platform’s rapid expansion even led to some technical challenges last week, with Bluesky experiencing temporary server issues as users signed up in large numbers.
Having operated on an invite-only basis for almost a year, Bluesky opened its doors to the wider public in February.
The platform has also introduced a series of updates, including self-moderation features, allowing users greater control over their interactions by setting limits on who can quote their posts, hiding certain replies, and muting specific words for a chosen period.
Despite Bluesky’s rapid growth, its competitor, Threads, has amassed over 200 million users, maintaining a strong foothold in the race for social media dominance.
Nevertheless, Bluesky continues to grow, recently enabling users to upload videos, adding another dimension to its platform as it seeks to distinguish itself in an increasingly competitive market.
