These features include the new “Mentions” tab in notifications. Previously, all notifications were mixed in one section, making it difficult to track mentions and tagged conversations. 

With this update, users can now easily access posts where they have been mentioned, making communication on the platform better.

Another enhancement is the protection against username squatting. When users switch to a custom domain for their profile, their original Bluesky username with the “.bsky.social” suffix will now be reserved, preventing others from taking it. 

This measure comes in response to incidents where users lost their original usernames due to impersonation and domain name purchases by other individuals. 

Bluesky assures that the reserved username will not expire, protecting users who prefer to use their custom domain while keeping their original identity intact.

Added to this, version 1.96 introduces new controls for organising replies to posts. Users can now choose between a linear view, where replies appear in a simple list, or a threaded view, which displays replies in an indented format, similar to Reddit. 

Furthermore, the update allows replies to be sorted by filters such as newest, oldest, most-liked, hot, or even a random selection known as “Poster’s Roulette.”

The update also increases the platform’s inclusivity by adding translations in Nepali, Khmer, and Romanian, making Bluesky more accessible to a global audience.

These changes come as the social network now has over 20 million users, and aims to continually improve the user interface and security of the platform.

While its user base is smaller compared to Instagram Threads, which recently reported over 275 million monthly active users, Bluesky’s fast growth is closing the gap. 

Analysis from market intelligence firm Similarweb shows that while Threads initially had five times more daily active users than Bluesky, by mid-November, the lead had narrowed to just 1.5 times.  

In terms of daily website visits, Bluesky has already outpaced Threads in key markets like the United States and the United Kingdom. 

Globally, it is on the brink of overtaking Threads in this metric, as mobile app usage surges, where Bluesky has seen explosive growth.  

According to Similarweb, usage of the Bluesky mobile app in the United States rose by 519% between the beginning of November and mid-month, compared to the first ten months of the year. 

The United Kingdom experienced a similar surge, with a 352% increase. On a global scale, usage on Android devices climbed more than 360%. A temporary spike in Brazilian users earlier this year, during a ban on X in the country, also contributed to these figures, though some users returned to X after the ban was lifted.  

Bluesky’s journey began with an invite-only system before opening to the public in February. Its user base has more than doubled since September when it had just over 9 million users.

In the week following the U.S. presidential election, the app reportedly added one million new users in a single week, averaging over 100,000 new users daily.  

The platform’s growth is partially a result of dissatisfaction with changes on X. Some users have objected to Elon Musk’s endorsement of President-elect Donald Trump and new policies on X, including modifications to the blocking feature and the controversial sale of user data for AI training. 

These changes have driven many users to seek alternatives, with Bluesky becoming a preferred option.  

While X remains the top platform with daily active user counts far surpassing Bluesky’s, the latter’s consistent growth shows it might get close soon enough. 

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.

This came after Jack Dorsey responded to a query on social media regarding his current involvement with Bluesky, simply stating, “no.” Despite numerous follow-up inquiries, Dorsey did not provide further details about his decision to leave.

The exact timing of Dorsey’s departure remains unclear. As of Sunday morning, Bluesky’s official FAQ still listed him as a board member. However, later that afternoon, Bluesky released a formal statement stating gratitude for Dorsey’s contributions to the project’s inception and funding.  

The company noted that Bluesky continues to flourish as an open-source social network operating on the atproto decentralized protocol.

Following Dorsey’s exit, Bluesky is actively seeking a new board member who shares the company’s vision of enabling users to control their social media experience. 

CEO Jay Graber now leads Bluesky, which transitioned into an independent public benefit corporation with venture capital backing and opened to the public in February.

Dorsey’s involvement with Bluesky had remained prominent, despite indications that he deleted his Bluesky account last year, a change not widely acknowledged until recently. 

This move contrasts with Dorsey’s active presence on social media, where he has shared updates about Bluesky alongside personal reflections and commentary on current events.

In addition to his role in Bluesky, Dorsey has engaged in various discussions and posts on social media, including commentary on music industry feuds and advocating for personal empowerment through “freedom technology.”

This surge in users will drive Bluesky to break the 4 million total signup capacity later today, a huge achievement considering it hit the 3 million mark just last week.

After nearly a year of operating as an invite-only platform, Bluesky recently opened its doors to the public, inviting users from all corners of the internet to join the platform. Its unique user count nearly doubled from Monday to Tuesday following its public launch, highlighting the epic interest and anticipation surrounding Bluesky’s entry into the mainstream.

However, Bluesky’s path to success hasn’t been without its challenges. Following its public launch, many of the platform’s user-generated custom algorithmic feeds encountered disruptions overnight, confirmed CEO Jay Graber. Despite these initial setbacks, Bluesky’s engineering team swiftly addressed the issues, ensuring that the platform is now operating smoothly for its growing user base.

Explaining the recent outages, Bluesky engineer Paul Frazee noted the technical challenges faced by the platform, likening them to a “multi-polar tachyon flow” overload, drawing similarities to science fiction motifs.

Despite the occasional hiccup, the overall reception to Bluesky’s public launch has been overwhelmingly positive. The platform received endorsement from legendary internet figure Dril, considered by many as the ultimate seal of approval in online circles.

With about 3 million sign-ups during its invite-only phase, Bluesky is now faced with the challenge of competing with established players like Threads, having 130 million monthly active users, and Mastodon, with 1.8 million users.

Bluesky may resemble Twitter at first glance, but its core lies in its decentralized infrastructure called the AT Protocol for social networking. Unlike centralized platforms, Bluesky’s code is open source, empowering developers to build custom algorithms or even entirely new social platforms on top of it.

CEO Jay Graber emphasized Bluesky’s focus on user experience, ensuring it’s both intuitive and enjoyable. The platform also introduces features like open federation, allowing developers to build separate servers akin to Mastodon, offering users greater choice and flexibility.

Bluesky’s innovative approach extends to content moderation. Users can subscribe to custom moderation services, including fact-checking organizations, enhancing transparency and trust within the community. However, the decentralized nature also poses challenges, particularly regarding harmful content moderation and user responsibility.

Bluesky’s journey began as part of Twitter, envisioned as its future decentralized evolution. However, with Twitter’s changing priorities under new leadership, Bluesky spun off into its own public benefit corporation, competing with Twitter’s new direction under X.

Now, Bluesky aims to enhance social networking by opening its doors to the public, providing an alternative to centralized platforms. The company is set to transform the space of social media, offering users more control, transparency, and customization options in their online interactions.

While Bluesky launches to the public, the conversation about decentralized protocols like ActivityPub continues to evolve. Despite ActivityPub’s rising popularity, Bluesky sees an opportunity to offer a distinct approach to decentralized social networking, embracing experimentation and innovation in the ever-evolving digital sector.