Bluesky is frequently touted as an alternative to X (formerly Twitter), but the two social media sites are not exactly the same. If you’re thinking about switching from X to Bluesky, here are the defining features between the two.
What Is Bluesky?
Bluesky is a decentralized, federated social media platform founded by Twitter (now X) founder Jack Dorsey. It was initially founded in 2019 as an internal project at Twitter started by Dorsey. In 2022, Dorsey made Bluesky its own independent venture from Twitter. Bluesky launched with an invite-only system in 2023, opening up to the public in 2024.
Posts on Bluesky are currently limited to 300 characters, keeping true to the microblogging medium. The platform allows users to post text, photos, and videos, follow other users, and send direct messages to other users. You can also build different custom feeds of different users, so you can keep different accounts categorized for ease of use.
Both Are Microblogging Sites, but Bluesky Has a Different Vision
One of the main reasons people tend to view Bluesky as a X (Twitter) clone is that they’re both microblogging platforms with fairly similar user interfaces. But don’t get it twisted; Bluesky isn’t meant to parrot X. Bluesky is intended to improve upon the microblogging medium that X popularized.
Bluesky’s mission is to make a microblogging platform that is more customizable than sites like X. The ability to create custom feeds, have federated servers, and keep things decentralized are the keys to this vision. If your X feed feels like an overwhelming amalgamation of every person you follow, Bluesky offers a different model. If you’re tired of the X community at large, there might be a smaller niche community you’ll love on Bluesky.
Bluesky Is Open-Source, X (Twitter) Is Not
The source code for Bluesky is openly accessible to anyone. This means that anyone can look through and see how things are being implemented. As such, Bluesky can be more transparent about the features it implements and how it’s built. Developers can also learn from the code and spot errors which can be flagged on GitHub.
X, on the other hand, is closed-source. In 2023, X announced that its recommendation algorithm would be made public on GitHub. However, the source code was incomplete and was only put up on GitHub once, with no updates when changes were made. This is antithetical to open-source as a concept since developers should be able to see the changes being made as they happen.
This may seem like a lot of confusing technical details, but open-source code allows people to look through and spot bugs and vulnerabilities. This makes for safer websites and apps since it’s not up to a small team of developers to identify these. For this reason, many people may prefer Bluesky, even though it has a long way to go with regard to development.
X Is a Classic Centralized Social Platform, Bluesky Is Decentralized and Federated
One of Bluesky’s defining features is that it’s decentralized and federated. This means that rather than having all users use the same platform with the same authority, users can set up different self-hosted servers. Servers allow for different communities to come together and customize their experience, often coming down to shared values and content moderation. It’s a lot like Mastodon in that way.
X is more of a classic social media platform in that it’s centralized. Everyone uses the same server, it’s all just X. Everyone is subject to the same content moderation standards, and while you can find niche communities, you can come across anyone’s posts, and anyone can come across yours freely. A decentralized and federated platform like Bluesky might be more enticing to people looking to have more intentional interactions with people with similar values.
Differences in Content Moderation
While Bluesky and X both have community standards each platform expects users to abide by, how moderation is dealt with on each platform is different. Bluesky allows users to customize their moderation experiences so you can filter out specific content that you don’t want showing up in your feed. Other people can also implement custom filters other people make, making it easier for the overall adoption of these separate moderation filters. Different servers can have different content moderation standards, but everything is built on common community guidelines.
X, being a centralized social media platform, has overarching community standards for every user. You can’t customize what you see beyond turning off NSFW content. How effective X’s moderation even is is another topic of much discussion. The rules and how content is moderated changed after Elon Musk took over the platform, and the site saw an uptick in hate speech due to changes to the rules. A lot of people prefer the “free speech” approach X has taken to content moderation, so it might be a preferable option for those who want to express more controversial opinions.
Bluesky Doesn’t Have Ads and Has No Premium Features
Anyone who uses X knows there are a ton of ads, and since Elon Musk took over, the premium tier gets pushed a lot. Monetizing features of the platform, like verification, two-factor verification via SMS, and longer posts, make the site a bit less enticing for those who don’t want to fork over $8 a month.
Bluesky, however, doesn’t have any monetized features at the moment, nor does it have ads. Bluesky is currently operating off funding from investors, and users don’t have to pay a cent. This makes the site more of a level playing field. Nobody can pay to boost their replies or get prioritized in the algorithm. Those who prefer a more equal posting environment might prefer this over X.
While on the surface, Bluesky and X (Twitter) may seem incredibly similar, some key aspects differentiate the two. Bluesky is still growing and developing as a platform, so it can’t quite match up to X in a lot of ways. Nevertheless, it continues to define itself as an alternative to X, just with a different vision.
