Bluesky, a social media platform positioned as an alternative to the site formerly known as Twitter, reported reaching 19 million users on Sunday, driven by a spike in interest following the U.S. election.
According to data from a tracking platform, over 5 million people joined the app between Monday and Sunday evening. Bluesky has also climbed app store rankings, surpassing Twitter/X in popularity in certain regions.
Initially launched as a Twitter project in 2019, Bluesky became independent in 2021. The app garnered significant attention after Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in October 2022, though the current surge marks its largest growth period yet.
Bluesky’s user count grew from 7 million in September to 13 million by late October, 15 million as of Tuesday, and finally 19 million on Sunday night. If the trend continues, the platform could reach 20 million users as early as Monday night.
The number of active users, however, remains unclear. One tracker reported that a record 2.6 million accounts liked a post on Saturday, up from 844,720 unique likers just before the U.S. election.
Bluesky COO Rose Wang told The Verge last week that most of the platform’s new users are based in the United States.
Musk is an outspoken supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, which has fueled the interest in Bluesky. X under Musk is also facing criticism for enabling the spread of harmful content, including misinformation.
In recent weeks, a number of companies and public figures have departed X, with some opting to join Bluesky instead. The British newspaper The Guardian revealed on Wednesday that it would no longer use X. Among other celebrities, Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, joined Bluesky on Saturday.
WBC24 also joined Bluesky this weekend: https://bsky.app/profile/wbc24.com