Bluesky, a decentralized social network, announced on Monday that it has surpassed 10 million users, largely due to its rapid expansion in recent weeks.
This surge follows the recent shutdown of X (formerly Twitter) in Brazil, which is owned by Elon Musk. The platform’s growth has accelerated since Brazil’s top court banned X, leaving users searching for alternatives.
“If you’re reading this, you’re one of the first 10 million users on Bluesky!” the company posted in celebration. In a playful twist, Bluesky included an Easter egg on its homepage: users can click a celebration emoji to reveal their specific joining number on the platform, which they can share with friends.
Following X’s ban in Brazil last month, social networks like Meta’s Threads and Bluesky have seen their user bases skyrocket. Both apps have climbed into the top 10 in Brazil’s App Store and Play Store rankings for social media. Bluesky alone gained 3 million users within days, with over 85% of its new user base hailing from Brazil.
Bluesky has faced some growing pains, with server glitches reported as the platform struggled to accommodate the flood of new users. However, these issues didn’t slow down the momentum.
The network, which remained invite-only for nearly a year, fully opened to all users in February. Since then, Bluesky has continued to enhance its offerings, most recently allowing users to post videos and introducing moderation tools. These include controls over who can quote posts, options to hide replies, and even the ability to mute specific words for a designated time period.
Meanwhile, Bluesky’s main competitor, Threads, now boasts over 200 million users. The rivalry between these platforms is heating up, but for now, Bluesky is riding high on the wave of X’s absence in Brazil.
