When you buy through affiliate links in our content, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn 
Following a Brazilian court’s ban on X, Bluesky has surged, gaining 1 million new users in just three days as competition intensifies.
After a Brazilian court decided to ban X, its competitors, especially Bluesky, are seeing a significant boost. On August 31, the service reported a surge in activity, reaching record highs. Bluesky topped Brazil’s free iPhone app chart, surpassing Meta’s Threads, now in second place. By September 1, the platform announced on X that it had gained one million new users in just three days:
wow… welcome to the ONE MILLION new users in the last three days!!! 🎉
join us: https://t.co/x6v5YW0WFT
— bluesky (@bluesky) August 31, 2024
Bluesky’s rapid growth is impressive, particularly since it transitioned from an invite-only app to full public access in February. According to its official website, by May 2024, the platform had surpassed 6 million users.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s X faces legal issues in Brazil because it refuses to block accounts linked to election disinformation. After X missed a deadline to appoint a local legal representative, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered an immediate suspension of the platform. Moraes also warned that users using VPNs to bypass the ban could face daily fines of 50,000 reais ($8,900). Musk responded by condemning the action as an attack on free speech.
As the ban approached, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva directed his X followers to his other social media profiles, including Bluesky. X is reportedly used by about 10% of Brazil’s 210 million residents.
How does Bluesky position itself compared to X?
Bluesky began in 2019 as a Twitter-backed initiative to develop an open, decentralized social protocol and has since become an independent public benefit corporation. Jack Dorsey, a co-founder and former Twitter CEO, stepped down from Bluesky’s board earlier this year. The platform has faced competition from both decentralized networks like Mastodon and major social media platforms such as X and Facebook.
On August 28, Bluesky rolled out anti-toxicity features designed to improve user safety and address harassment. These updates include tools to detach quote posts, hide replies, and filter notifications. This move aims to position Bluesky as a more secure alternative to Elon Musk’s X, responding to rising worries about hate speech and misinformation on the platform.
