Bluesky is now open for all to join: Here's what you need to know about this X alternative
Looking for another social media platform to post what's happening? Bluesky, an X alternative, is now available for anyone to join.
ICYDK, Bluesky, a decentralized micro-blogging platform, is funded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, thus it works a lot like X. Decentralized social media runs on independently operated servers which gives its users more freedom of expression and security when it comes to their privacy.
Initially, users had to sign up and wait for invites to be on Bluesky but as of Feb. 6, 2024, anybody can sign up for the site. As of writing, over 1 million users have joined the platform since it opened to the public.
How to get started
To create your Bluesky account, go to bsky.app and click Create a new account. In the next screen, type in your email address, password, and birthdate then click on Next.
The site will require you to enter your phone number and after, it will send you a verification code to finish account creation.
When you've entered all your details, you will then be able to choose your Bluesky handle, which will be followed by ".bsky.social."
Once done, you'll be able to choose your interests and select accounts you follow.
How is it different from X?
Bluesky functions similarly to X where you get a feed for your following list, For You, and a Discover tab. You can also have multiple feeds for keeping up to date with certain communities. Users can also build custom algorithms for their feeds with the open-source site.
On the new platform, users can write with up to 300 characters in a single post while on X, users can use up to 280 characters on a basic, non-paid account.
Like the Musk-owned platform and similar rivals like Threads, Bluesky also allows its users to share links, photos, and videos. However, this Twitter clone doesn't have direct messaging yet so users can only interact through replies, reposts, and likes.
While its home page looks a lot like X, there are some tabs that you'll find different like the dedicated Moderation tab where you can easily customize content filtering, block and mute users, and also share your list of blocked and muted users to others.
The content filtering options are more elaborate as you'll be able to choose whether you want to hide, warn, or show adult content—explicit images, suggestive posts, violent content—hate group iconography, spam, and accounts impersonating others.
Decentralized social network
The biggest difference between the two apps is Bluesky's decentralized nature in contrast to X's centralized structure. For X, a single entity controls the platform with administrators having the power to control content, enforce posting rules, and censor content.
With a decentralized structure, different servers created within Bluesky will be able to make their own rules when it comes to content moderation, censorship, and control over their own data.
Bluesky aims to be "federated" meaning other developers can build separate servers within the app so if they build their own social network, they can migrate their data in the app—like posts, followers, following—to another server.
Currently, there are no ads on Bluesky and there's no premium version for more perks like the Elon Musk-owned site.
To keep the site ad-free, the social network is allowing users to turn their accounts into a domain which includes perks like ditching the ".bsky.social" at the end of their username.
Bluesky is available on the web, App Store, and Google Play.