In an unprecedented shift in social media dynamics, the up-and-coming platform Bluesky is rapidly gaining traction among academics, journalists, and left-leaning politicians discontented with Elon Musk's controversial management of X (formerly known as Twitter). This surge has enabled Bluesky to surpass Meta's Threads in total user numbers, although Threads still boasts higher app engagement.

Recent data from Similarweb reveals a staggering 500% increase in Bluesky's app and website usage following Donald Trump's election victory, bringing in approximately 3.5 million active users daily. Despite this remarkable growth, Bluesky's overall user count remains around 21.5 million as of November 22.

Bluesky's CEO Jay Graber shared insights into their rapid expansion, stating, “We’ve been growing by about a million users a day for several days. It’s proving out the model that we thought would be the right approach to social [media]: Give people the tools to control their experience and they’ll have a better time.” The platform, established in 2019 by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, offers a user experience akin to that of X by enabling users to share text, videos, and photos while engaging with one another's content.

The growth of Bluesky can also be attributed to innovative features like the “starter pack,” which allows users to effortlessly follow curated groups of accounts. However, its meteoric rise hasn't come without challenges, as the platform has faced multiple outages and technical glitches, prompting skepticism about its ability to sustain robust business operations.

Before November 5, Threads had boasted five times the daily U.S. user base of Bluesky, but that gap has narrowed significantly, with Threads now only being 1.5 times larger than its smaller competitor. This shift has been partly linked to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent decision to deprioritize political content across its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.

Conversely, Musk's approach on X, characterized by a rollback of content moderation and heightened free speech advocacy, has raised alarms regarding the proliferation of misinformation. Musk's controversial decisions, such as his links to Trump and the endorsement of fringe narratives, have catalyzed a post-election exodus from X, particularly following the platform’s suspension in Brazil last September.

This ban coincided with a significant spike in Bluesky’s user growth, as the platform welcomed 3 million new users that week alone. Following yet another controversial announcement from Musk regarding user access, Bluesky’s popularity surged further, adding an impressive 1.2 million users within just two days.

As users increasingly seek safer, more regulated spaces for social interaction, the competition between Bluesky and Threads is heating up, creating a compelling narrative in the ever-evolving landscape of social media. Analysts are keenly observing whether Bluesky can maintain its momentum or if Threads will reclaim its dominance in the shifting tides of user engagement. Stay tuned as this rivalry unfolds!