Bluesky, a new social media app for microblogging, has gained popularity among journalists, politicians, and celebrities, including Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and model Chrissy Teigen. The app, which looks almost identical to Twitter, was created by Twitter's co-founder and former CEO, Jack Dorsey. However, Bluesky runs on a decentralized network, which gives users more control over how the service is run, data is stored, and content is moderated.
Bluesky was launched in a closed beta on iOS in February and on Android this month, and it's gaining traction among Twitter users who are frustrated with the direction of the platform under owner Elon Musk. Since Musk took over Twitter, he has made several controversial changes to its features and policies, including the removal of blue check marks from prominent users. As a result, some high-profile users are now testing out Bluesky, which has been downloaded more than 375,000 times from the Apple App Store and has a waitlist flooded with signup requests.
Bluesky was formed independently of Twitter while Dorsey was serving as CEO, but it was funded by the company until it became an independent organization in February 2022. In a tweet introducing the idea in 2019, Dorsey said he also plans to "build an open community around it, inclusive of companies & organizations, researchers, civil society leaders," but warned "this isn't going to happen overnight."
Bluesky, like Mastodon, another Twitter alternative that gained attention late last year, appeals to social media users who want more choice over where they spend their time. Mark Bartholomew, a professor at the University at Buffalo School of Law who writes about online privacy, said the early shift toward Bluesky is a positive one, as competition might help users find the product features they want, like greater privacy protection, portability, and more significant content moderation. He added that social media platforms have features that users dislike, but they still feel like they must accept them to just be in the online space where everyone else is. However, it's unclear if Bluesky has staying power or will lose steam like Mastodon did.
Bluesky is currently invite-only as it ramps up support for the implementation of its network. Existing users get one invite code to share with someone for every two weeks they're on the app, which has only added to the excitement of joining Bluesky. As Eve 6 wrote on Twitter, "Bluesky invite codes are the new blue check."