Bluesky Surges in Popularity as Users Flee Elon Musk’s X Following Trump Victory

In the aftermath of Donald Trump‘s presidential election victory, Bluesky, a social media platform founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has seen a significant surge in user numbers. This increase is largely driven by users abandoning Elon Musk‘s X (formerly Twitter) due to Musk’s vocal support for Trump and his subsequent appointment as the Republican president-elect’s efficiency tsar.

Bluesky reported adding over 1 million new users in the week following the election, bringing its total user base to around 15 million. This growth has propelled Bluesky to the top of the Apple App Store charts, with the app seeing a 933% increase in downloads compared to the same period last year.

The exodus from X is attributed to Musk’s support for Trump and the perceived shift in X’s content towards more partisan and divisive posts. Many users have expressed dissatisfaction with X’s new direction, leading them to seek alternative platforms like Bluesky and Meta‘s Threads. On the day after the election, approximately 115,000 X users in the US deactivated their accounts, marking the highest number of account deactivations since Musk took over Twitter in 2022.

Bluesky distinguishes itself from X by its decentralized structure, allowing users to host their own accounts and activity on different servers. This approach gives users more control over their experience and reduces the company’s influence. Unlike X, which uses algorithms to curate content, Bluesky features a chronological feed and does not rely on traditional advertising for revenue.

The platform’s user base includes activists, academics, journalists, and technology workers, and it is noted for its more politically neutral and left-leaning tilt compared to X. Prominent figures like entrepreneur Mark Cuban have welcomed new users to Bluesky, highlighting its less confrontational atmosphere.