Bluesky adds 500,000 new users in a single day after changes to X's blocking feature.
It is possible that people want 'block' to work, you know, to block other users.
X has made a significant change to its platform that has generated a negative reaction among users. Previously, blocking a user on this social network meant that the blocked person could not see the posts of the user who had applied the block; however, with the new feature, blocked users will now have the ability to view content, although they will not be able to interact with it. This change has raised concerns about user safety, even among those who generally support Elon Musk.
The reaction to this modification has been quite critical, and some users have decided to leave the platform in search of alternatives. One of those, Bluesky, has reported remarkable growth, reaching half a million new registrations in just 24 hours after X's official announcement.
Bluesky has positioned itself as one of the main alternatives to X since Musk took control of what was formerly Twitter. It is currently the third-largest microblogging platform, only behind X and Threads by Meta. Unlike these, Bluesky operates as a public benefit corporation and markets itself as a decentralized social media platform.
From its official account, Bluesky enthusiastically welcomed the new users, reporting that more than 100,000 people had registered in the first hours after the announcement. Almost a day later, the same account updated that the figure had grown to 500,000. This pattern of growth in Bluesky is not new; whenever Musk makes decisions that alienate users, the platform tends to experience a significant increase in registrations.
A recent example of this phenomenon was when Brazil banned X from operating within its territory due to the company's refusal to comply with its laws. On that occasion, Bluesky gained 3 million new users in a week and reached 10 million. With the momentum from this new change in X, Bluesky has surpassed 11 million users, leaving expectations on what measures X will take to win back its users.
