Bluesky signups soar after X makes controversial privacy change

After X (formerly Twitter) announced a controversial privacy policy change, people are flocking to Bluesky. 

On Wednesday, the X Engineering account announced a new rule that didn't sit well with many users. "Soon," the post read, "we'll be launching a change to how the block function works. If your posts are set to public, accounts you have blocked will be able to view them, but they will not be able to engage (like, reply, repost, etc.)." X CEO Elon Musk originally floated the change last month. 

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Prior to this change, if you blocked someone on X, they were truly blocked, meaning they couldn't see your posts. With this change, while a blocked user can't interact directly with you, it would still be possible for them to screenshot and post about what you're writing. 

In response, users are looking to other platforms. 

Around 1 p.m. Thursday, the official Bluesky account announced that half a million new people signed up in the past 24 hours. A similar surge of 2,000,000 new signups happened last month when the Brazilian government banned X because of political issues and when X announced that some features were moving behind a paywall. 

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At the time of writing, Bluesky has nearly 12 million total users.

The app, which has been rising in popularity as an alternative to X, now ranks fourth among free iOS apps in the U.S. behind Threads from Meta, ChatGPT, and Google, and ahead of TikTok and Temu. The app is in 39th place on the Google Play store but still ahead of X. 

While Bluesky doesn't have some features other platforms do, it offers a number of features that other platforms don't, including the ability to define your own feed instead of trusting an algorithm, independent verification using your own domain name, and the option to move your entire account and identity to another server. Plus, it's not subject to the whims of Elon Musk.

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It's the third largest micro-blogging site behind X and Threads, but unlike those, it's registered as a public benefit corporation. This means that while it's for-profit, it's also out to generate social and public good. And while Threads is decentralized too (which means you're in control of your data), Bluesky makes that fact part of its branding.

If X continues to make changes that drive users away, it will be interesting to watch Bluesky's rise.