Bluesky, the social media platform that emerged as an alternative for users discontented with X, has shown remarkable growth in the wake of recent political events. Following the U.S. presidential elections late last year, many users abandoned X in protest of its owner, Elon Musk, and his perceived alignment with former President Donald Trump. This fortune has been particularly good for Bluesky, though the platform’s rapid growth momentum has started to slow down in the last few months.
In the aftermath of those elections, Bluesky saw a massive surge in new users. Millions of users migrated to the platform, looking for social media environments that aligned more with their personal values. As of June of this year, Bluesky increased its user growth at an astounding rate of 372.5%. That’s a huge jump over last year! Bluesky is the first ever to hit 4.1 million daily active users globally. Its user base is still quite small, with only 1.1 million users in the United States across mobile platforms.
The first wave of users migrating to Bluesky had already reached its high point as of late last year. Wealth growth is starting to reverse course as early as this past spring. The platform quickly attracted a surge of new users hoping to escape the storm surrounding X and its owner Elon Musk. New data indicates that this torrid growth rate has begun to slow considerably.
Back in June, Bluesky disclosed that their U.S. user base was averaging 2.4 million daily web visitors. This figure illustrates how deeply users engage with the platform on a frequent basis. This story is emblematic of the challenges the platform faces. It challenges itself to maintain its growth momentum while operating in one of the most competitive and duplicative social media environments.
Bluesky has some major obstacles in its path as it continues onward. We should never forget how outside forces, particularly user sentiment toward X and the political environment, will influence its future direction. The platform’s ability to retain and attract new users in light of fluctuating public opinion may determine its long-term sustainability.