What Is Bluesky? How It Works, Users, Pros & Cons

What is Bluesky, and why does it look familiar? The app lets you follow people, publish short updates, reply, repost, and share media much like X/Twitter. Its unusual part sits beneath that familiar interface: an open network called the AT Protocol. This guide explains what that changes for you, who is there, and where the app still falls short.

What Is Bluesky, and Why Was It Created?

Bluesky is both a social app and a project to make public social networking less dependent on one company. Its origin story starts in 2019, when then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced funding for an open social media standard. Jay Graber later led the project. Bluesky formed an independent company in late 2021, and Twitter ended its service agreement in 2022. The app began as a way to demonstrate the underlying protocol; it grew into a social network in its own right.

The problem was lock-in: if one company changes its rules, ranking system, or ownership, a creator can lose reach yet face starting over elsewhere because their profile and audience stay on that platform. Bluesky's open social web design uses the AT Protocol so compatible hosts can share a network. You can move hosting without losing posts or followers, choose feeds, and add independent moderation services. Bluesky still runs the main app and enforces its rules there; decentralization does not prevent suspensions.

How Does Bluesky Work? The App and AT Protocol

Create an account, pick a handle, follow people, and post through Bluesky's website or mobile app. The AT Protocol (Authenticated Transfer Protocol) defines identity, social data, and how services exchange that data. Bluesky's technical overview describes posts and follows as records in an account's repository, which other compatible services can read.

The app is one way to view the network. Its account portability design lets you move hosting providers while retaining your identity, posts, and connections. This does not transfer an X account or its followers to Bluesky. Most newcomers use Bluesky's default hosting service.

What Can You Do on Bluesky?

Bluesky covers the familiar basics: posts, replies, reposts, likes, follows, search, and direct messages. What is Bluesky used for beyond another timeline? Its strongest tools help you find a community and shape what you see:

• Custom feeds: Choose a timeline curated around a subject or by a third-party feed maker. You can keep a Following feed for accounts you follow and add others for a hobby, profession, or event. Bluesky explains that these feeds can use different ranking rules; you needn't rely on a single recommendation algorithm.
• Starter Packs: Someone can share a collection of suggested accounts and feeds. It is a shortcut to a community when your new account feels empty. Bluesky's guide explains how to create and share one.
• Domain handles: If you control a website domain, you can use it as your handle. That can help readers recognize an organization or creator, though a handle alone does not prove every claim an account makes. Bluesky's FAQ explains the setup.
• Moderation choices: You can mute or block accounts and apply content preferences. Beyond Bluesky's own moderation, its label system allows community services to mark content or accounts; users can subscribe to labels that match their needs.

To begin, follow a few trusted people, add one relevant feed, and try a Starter Pack from a community you know.

Here is Buffer's walk-through of Starter Packs, feeds, handles, and moderation for new users:

How Many People Use Bluesky?

Bluesky's company FAQ says it had over 44 million users as of May 2026. Its 2025 transparency report counted 41.41 million users at the end of 2025 across Bluesky hosting and the wider federated AT Protocol network. These are network or account totals, not a published monthly active user figure. An account can exist without being used regularly, so do not read “44 million users” as “44 million people log in every month.”

Search for recent posts and replies to see whether your audience is active.

Why Do People Move From X or Threads to Bluesky?

Changes to access, moderation, or feed visibility can prompt people to try another network. After X was blocked across Brazil in 2024, Bluesky gained 2.6 million users in a week, 85% of them from Brazil, the Associated Press reported. That was a nationwide block of X, not mass bans of individual accounts. AP also reported people seeking an X alternative after the 2024 U.S. election.

On Threads, TechCrunch reported complaints about posts being downranked or blocked and accounts incorrectly removed or flagged. Some users discussed leaving for Bluesky; the report did not establish a mass migration. For people considering a switch, Bluesky's custom feeds, optional moderation layers, and portable AT Protocol identity offer more choice. Its own moderation rules still apply, and followers from X or Threads do not transfer automatically.

Who Is Bluesky For?

Bluesky fits public, text-led conversation for writers, journalists, artists, researchers, hobby communities, and brands. It helps people find topic feeds and establish a recognizable domain handle. A creator can join a field-specific Starter Pack and reply to active peers before posting their own work.

It is less suited to private communities. Posts are public; Bluesky's user FAQ says people on the web can see them. Brands should check whether their customers are present before investing in a posting routine.

What Are Bluesky's Advantages and Drawbacks?

Advantages: The interface is familiar, joining is open, and feeds let you choose how to discover posts. Starter Packs reduce the empty-feed problem. Domain handles and portable identity make an account less tied to one host, while moderation labels give users another layer of control. For a deeper comparison with other networks, see our Threads vs Bluesky vs Mastodon guide.

Drawbacks: Setting up feeds and understanding the open network can feel less simple than using one default timeline. Public posts can be copied or indexed, and the open protocol is not a privacy guarantee. Independent hosting and portability are real features, but the main app and many services still rely on Bluesky's infrastructure. Moderation choices also do not eliminate harassment or spam; Bluesky's 2025 transparency report details the scale of that work.

Is Bluesky Worth Joining?

Yes, if the people or topics you care about are active there. Add a relevant feed and spend a week reading and replying before committing to a posting routine. You can use its familiar app without managing a server.

Start Publishing to Bluesky with Postory

If Bluesky earns a place in your routine, Postory's social media scheduler lets you plan and publish posts to Bluesky alongside X and Threads from one calendar. You can keep the conversation on Bluesky while preparing posts ahead of time.

Try Postory free and connect the accounts you want to use.