Bluesky has added 1 million users since the US election as people seek alternatives to X
In a notable shift in the social media landscape, Bluesky announced Wednesday that it gained 1 million new users in the week following the U.S. election, bringing its total user base to 15 million. This marks a substantial increase from the approximately 13 million users reported at October's end.
The platform, which was created under the guidance of former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, opened its doors to the public in February after operating as an invitation-only service. During its closed beta period, Bluesky developed robust moderation tools and features that mirror those found on X (formerly Twitter), including a discovery feed, chronological timeline, direct messaging, and post pinning capabilities.
This post-election surge isn't Bluesky's first major user influx. The platform previously experienced dramatic growth when X was banned in Brazil last August, gaining 2.6 million users - predominantly Brazilian - in just one week. Another spike occurred last month when X announced changes to its blocked accounts policy, leading to 500,000 new sign-ups in a single day.
While X claims to have "dominated the global conversation on the U.S. election" with a 15.5% increase in new users on Election Day and 942 million worldwide posts, Bluesky continues to attract high-profile users seeking an alternative platform. Journalists, politicians, and celebrities have praised Bluesky's ad-free environment and stronger stance against hate speech, with some noting its similarity to Twitter's earlier days.
The migration to Bluesky gained additional momentum when The Guardian announced its departure from X, citing concerns over far-right conspiracy theories and racism. Television personality Don Lemon also declared his exit from X while embracing Bluesky, pointing to X's recent terms of service changes regarding lawsuit venues and expressing concerns about the platform's ability to foster meaningful dialogue.
These moves follow last year's exodus of major advertisers like IBM and NBCUniversal from X, who withdrew their support amid concerns about pro-Nazi content and hate speech on the platform, compounded by controversial posts from X owner Elon Musk himself.
Bluesky has maintained a competitive edge through subtle commentary on its rival, including a pointed Election Day message referencing Musk's relationship with political candidates: "I can guarantee that no Bluesky team members will be sitting with a presidential candidate tonight and giving them direct access to control what you see online."