A good product often serves as a blueprint for competitors, and Twitter (now X) has embodied that for a long time. Elon Musk’s takeover over two years ago particularly amplified the demand for a competitor to crack Twitter’s code, as many feel that the billionaire’s reign is doing more to repel than retain and attract users. This sentiment isn’t baseless. Months of audacious changes on Twitter have left even the most experimental and liberal users fed up to the back teeth. These eroding updates have periodically prompted brief stints of exoduses from the once-upon-a-time bird app to platforms like Truth, Matsodon, and Pebble. Yet, none of these heralded replacements has stood toe-to-toe with Twitter like Bluesky (is trying to) and to some extent, Meta’s Threads.

In terms of numbers, Threads, with its staggering 275 million monthly users, a little over a year after its launch, dwarfs Bluesky’s recent milestone of 20 million users. Despite this stark difference, Bluesky has emerged as a favourite alternative for embittered X users. Major reasons for this migration include dissatisfaction with X’s support for Donald Trump during the U.S. presidential election, backlash over rendering the block feature impotent, and concerns about X’s decision to let third-party companies train AI models using users’ posts.

These controversies have thrust Bluesky into the spotlight, propelling it to the top of the U.S. App Store. For a network founded by Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s former owner, roughly five years ago, Bluesky appears to have waited for the right moment — and that moment might finally be here. Whether it thrives in X’s shadow or steps into the light as a worthy successor remains to be seen, but what exactly gives Bluesky the edge in its (historically doomed) quest to usurp Twitter’s position? 

What’s Bluesky?

Bluesky is a social app that began as a Twitter-linked project initiated by Jack Dorsey in 2019 during his tenure as Twitter’s CEO. Initially funded by Twitter, the project aimed to create a decentralised standard for social media, with the original intention that Twitter would later adopt this standard.

This connection ended when Bluesky became an independent company in 2022, and Jack Dorsey announced his departure from its board in May 2024.

The company is now registered as a Public Benefit Corporation, owned by Jay Graber and the Bluesky team, as stated on its website.

Bluesky’s Edge

Unlike X’s centralised model, which hinges on X Corp., to ensure a consistent experience but limited user autonomy and control, Bluesky leans on a decentralised approach that grants users greater control over their data, content moderation, and overall experience. 

Though both platforms share a similar interface and features like direct messages, character limits, and pinned posts, Bluesky’s standout feature is its reliance on the AT Protocol, an open-source framework that fosters transparency and encourages user involvement in the platform’s evolution.

Another distinct feature is Bluesky’s ad-free environment. Unlike X, which monetises through subscriptions and promoted content, Bluesky provides an egalitarian experience where all users access the platform’s full capabilities without extra costs. Additionally, it has distanced itself from the AI controversies plaguing X. The Garber-led network has explicitly stated it has “no intention” of using user content to train AI tools—a stark contrast to X’s contentious policy updates.

With a real-time, all-industry public interaction that showed promises during Netflix’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson bout last weekend, Bluesky’s ability to model arguably X’s defining strength underscores its readiness for the X heir apparent position.

From shedding its divisive invite-only model to overcoming early struggles with user surges, Bluesky’s campaign as a threat to X’s once-dominant status is in the making. Whether it capitalises on this momentum or fades into obscurity remains uncertain, but its journey so far makes it a contender worth watching.