Users of Elon MuskIt is X/Twitter are looking for a new social media platform on which to connect and share their thoughts – and Bluesky might be the answer.

Bluesky has been the talk of the internet for a while now, and last week it became the first free app in Apple’s UK App Store as users looked for an alternative to the platform. form of Musk where LGBTQ+ hatred seems free to continue unabated.

Launched in 2022, Bluesky has continued to grow in popularity, especially following the recent US presidential election and with Musk co-leading the new Department of Government Effectiveness. This month, the platform’s audience reached 19 million, with 700,000 new members in just one week.

the number of bluesky users increased by another million today

welcome to all of you, 19 million pic.twitter.com/FtCvcyyr20

– blue sky (@bluesky) November 18, 2024

So, is the grass really greener – or perhaps bluer – elsewhere? Here’s everything you need to know about the new social media platform.

Is Bluesky free?

Yes.

Bluesky started as an internal project of former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in 2019. In 2021, it became an independent company under the leadership of Jay Graber.

Previously, new users could only migrate to the site if they received an invitation from an existing user. This policy has been abandoned and anyone can join. Visit bsky.app and click the register button to get started.

What is the difference between X and Bluesky?

At first glance, X/ and Bluesky seem similar, both are scrolling social media platforms, but when you take a closer look, the new alternative solves many of the problems users have had recently with the adopted child of Musk.

People using Bluesky can post, comment, repost and like their favorite content using the homepage, notifications and search functions.

Bluesky prides itself on being a network that prioritizes user control, a stark contrast to X’s algorithm-based feeds that were increasingly populated by bots. Decentralization is a key difference because users can host their data on their own servers rather than company-owned ones.

However, most people are unlikely to use this feature and will simply join a “.bsky.social” at the end of their username.

Why does everyone go to Bluesky?

It’s no coincidence that after Trump’s re-election, the number of new users on Bluesky exploded.

Elon Musk supported Trump’s presidential campaign both vocally and financially and has now been named to a position in the new administration. While the political division on the platform is felt by all, some are leaving X in protest.

Other X users are fed up with the platform’s toxic algorithmic feeds and the South African-born billionaire’s broken promises to end the bot problem.

Additionally, since Musk took power, X seems to have increasingly prioritized right-wing/MAGA attitudes.

The platform has also become increasingly hostile towards LGBTQ+ users. Musk – who owns it trans girl excluded him from his life – rescinded anti-hate policies on the social media platform after he took over, such as those against misconception and deadly naming.

The policy, which prohibited “targeted harassment, including repeated slurs, tropes” or content intended to dehumanize protected categories, had been in effect since 2018 – before Musk’s acquisition of the platform – but was abandoned last year.

The policy was “quietly” brought back in March but not before transphobic abuse on the site exploded. Musk apparently made this point with his plan to move the X and SpaceX headquarters in Californiaafter the state passed a law that explicitly prohibits school districts from outing trans students to their parents.

Other measures taken by Musk, who wants to remove the insult “groomer” from the list of discriminatory termswhile anti-trans hashtags are regularly trending on the site, are seen as proof that the platform’s hateful conduct policy has been a failure.

Notable LGBTQ+ figures, including Elton John, have abandoned the platform in a mass exodus. In the meantime, The Trevor Project And Transgender Charity Mermaids joined a number of LGBTQ+ charities that have left X over the years rise of LGBTQ+ hatred on the platform.

GLAADthe world’s largest LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization, released its annual Social Media Safety Index and Platform dashboard in June.

It ranks social media platforms based on their efforts to keep LGBTQ+ users safe. X was at its lowest.

The non-profit organization described X as: “The most dangerous platform for LGBTQ+ people.”

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