Bluesky hits 20 million users as people continue to flee X

Bluesky has surged past 20 million users, nearly tripling its base in three months. The app added a million users in a single day multiple times last week, mirroring Threads’ recent growth pace. While still smaller than rivals Threads (275 million users) and X, Bluesky’s rapid expansion highlights its growing appeal. Threads, meanwhile, has gained 15 million users since early November, maintaining steady growth. But why has Bluesky suddenly surged now? 

Bluesky is turning a trickle of users into a full-on flood. The microblogging platform hit 20 million users this week, averaging a staggering 1 million new sign-ups per day over the last five days. Since the presidential election, growth has skyrocketed, with users flocking to Bluesky as Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) struggles with bots, extreme content, crypto scams, and misinformation.

Bluesky's rise has been particularly popular in Hollywood. Celebrities and creatives have embraced the platform, distancing themselves from Musk’s political leanings and turning Bluesky into a haven for fan engagement and promotion. Big names like Lizzo, Barbra Streisand, Jamie Lee Curtis, Guillermo del Toro, Mark Hamill, Stephen King, and many more have either migrated to Bluesky or significantly increased their activity there.

With its steady rise and an influx of high-profile users, Bluesky is proving to be a serious contender in the social media space.

Bluesky has seen periods of growth over the past year, but its recent surge far surpasses anything before. A report from analytics firm SimilarWeb highlights a significant traffic spike on November 7, the day after the presidential election, coinciding with a wave of users deactivating their accounts on X.

The platform is also setting itself apart with user-friendly policies. Last week, Bluesky committed to not using user content for training generative AI, a clear contrast to X’s new privacy policy, which allows third-party AI training on past posts. Bluesky CEO Jay Graber has also emphasised her commitment to keeping the platform ad-free, while Threads is reportedly gearing up to test ads starting in January.

Notably, The Guardian announced it would no longer post on its X accounts, after describing Musk’s platform as “toxic.” The U.K.-based media group added that it had been considering a move to stop posting on X for some time “given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism.” 

The Guardian added that, “the U.S. presidential election campaign served only to underline what we have considered for a long time: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse.”

Although Bluesky is still the underdog, it’s clearly gaining traction. It has held the top spot on Apple’s App Store for the past six days and ranked as the leading non-gaming app on Google Play for four days, according to analytics firm App Figures. Meanwhile, Meta’s Threads currently sits in second place on the App Store.