Social media platform Bluesky is seeing a dramatic influx of users as people abandon Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, following Donald Trump’s recent election as US President. Bluesky announced it had gained around 2.5 million new users in the past week, bringing its total user base to over 16 million. This surge arrives as X, facing criticism over its handling of misinformation and impending changes to its terms of service, appears increasingly unpopular among certain user groups.
The Bluesky platform reported record-high levels of user activity, including spikes in likes, follows, and new account sign-ups. “We’re seeing record-high activity levels across all forms of engagement, and we’re on track to add 1 million new users in one day alone,” Bluesky said in a statement.
Several notable figures and organisations, including the nonprofit Centre for Countering Digital Hate, UK news publisher The Guardian, and former CNN anchor Don Lemon, have publicly announced their departure from X. These moves were largely motivated by concerns over content moderation on X and the upcoming change in terms of service, which many fear could limit users’ ability to take legal action against the platform.
X, which became the centre of controversy after enabling the spread of misinformation during the recent election, recorded a record-breaking 46.5 million visits in the US on November 6, the highest daily traffic in over a year. This surge followed the news of Trump’s victory, a moment which sparked significant online activity and debate. However, despite this spike, data from analytics firm SimilarWeb indicates that over 115,000 US users deactivated their X accounts on that day, marking the highest account deactivation rate since Musk acquired the platform.
Meanwhile, Bluesky also saw significant web traffic on November 6, with approximately 1.2 million visitors on that day alone, surpassing even Meta’s Threads, which attracted around 950,000 visitors. However, Threads continues to maintain higher traffic on its app, showing robust competition among X’s challengers.
Abraham Yousef, a senior insights analyst at Sensor Tower, commented on Bluesky’s rapid growth: “Outsized growth, particularly for Bluesky, may have been driven by a rise of controversial content or technical issues on competitor X. The departure of popular accounts, media personalities, and organisations may have led users to feel that X is no longer their preferred platform, pushing growth on alternative platforms, particularly Bluesky and Threads.”
Changes in X’s Terms of Service
The rise in Bluesky’s user base also coincides with X’s planned changes to its terms of service, set to take effect on Friday. The update mandates that all legal disputes involving X be brought exclusively before the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas or in Tarrant County, Texas state courts. This move has been met with criticism, particularly from the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, which expressed concerns that the terms change might limit the ability of individuals and organisations to challenge X’s policies in court.
The Centre for Countering Digital Hate commented on Thursday, “This change could hinder legal challenges against the platform, steering future lawsuits toward courts Musk perceives to be favourable. Now, the billionaire will be able to bring lawsuits to friendly courts against whoever disagrees with him on his platform.” Neither Musk nor X responded to these allegations.
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Competitive Landscape and Future Prospects
Despite the user exodus, X maintains a considerably larger user base than its competitors. Threads, for instance, boasts about 252 million monthly active users on its mobile app, while X remains in the lead with approximately 317 million active users, according to Sensor Tower data.
Analyst Gil Luria of D.A. Davidson & Co noted that X’s alignment with Trump’s administration could bolster its appeal among supporters, stating, “X seems to be in a better position than it has in a while, given the ability to represent the views of president-elect Trump. While there are competing platforms, they may struggle to catch up with X, as microblogging platforms often benefit from significant network effects.”
Bluesky’s recent growth suggests a strong demand for alternative social media platforms, particularly among users seeking different approaches to content moderation and data privacy. With tensions high and users exploring new social spaces, Bluesky, Threads, and other platforms are likely to continue competing for those disillusioned with X. Nonetheless, as X cements its influence with Trump in office, the battle to retain and attract users could become increasingly competitive in the evolving social media landscape.
