The Open-Source Challenger to X Keeps Growing
Bluesky, the open-source social platform backed by Jack Dorsey, officially surpassed 40 million users, a defining moment in its mission to provide a decentralised alternative to X (formerly Twitter). The milestone comes as Bluesky prepares to roll out a long-requested “dislike” button, an indication that the platform is growing — and maturing.
The dislike option, Bluesky says, will give users more control over their feeds by letting the algorithm know what kinds of posts they don’t want to see. It’s part of the company’s broader effort to improve personalisation and make social interactions more relevant and less toxic.
What’s Happening & Why This Matters
A New Take on the Dislike Button
Bluesky’s upcoming dislike feature is designed to work differently from traditional downvotes. Rather than punishing users or making dislikes public, the platform uses them as private feedback signals. They inform post ranking and reduce the visibility of low-quality replies — but only within a user’s “social neighbourhood.”
This means feedback impacts your immediate circle — the people you follow and interact with most — rather than reshaping the experience for the entire platform. Bluesky says its approach is to “make conversations feel more relevant, familiar, and less prone to misunderstandings.”
The company hasn’t confirmed an exact release date for the feature, but noted that testing is already underway.
Learning from Others’ Mistakes
Unlike Facebook and X, which experimented with similar tools to mixed results, Bluesky’s model avoids the pitfalls of public negativity.
- Facebook tested a dislike function in 2015 and 2018 but scrapped it over concerns it fuels hostility.
- X (formerly Twitter) introduced a downvote option in 2024, but many users saw it as a potential avenue for online harassment or coordinated targeting.
- TikTok implemented a private dislike button in 2022 that’s still active today, helping filter spam and abuse.
- Reddit, however, built its entire engagement model around upvotes and downvotes, proving that — in the right environment — such feedback works.
By keeping dislikes private and context-aware, Bluesky hopes to strike a balance between feedback and friendliness.
Growth Amid X’s Decline
Bluesky’s 40-million-user milestone reflects a 519% growth during the first 10 months of 2024. Much of that surge came as users fled Elon Musk’s X over moderation concerns and its open political alignment with President Trump.
The platform’s open-source architecture and promise of algorithmic transparency continue to attract creators and developers seeking more control. Bluesky’s growth establishes it as a competitor to established social networks, especially as decentralised platforms gain mainstream traction.
TF Summary: What’s Next
Bluesky’s rise to 40 million users proves that alternative social networks can thrive when they prioritise transparency, safety, and user control. The platform’s private dislike feature may become a model for ethical engagement — reducing spam and toxicity without amplifying hostility.
MY FORECAST: Expect Bluesky’s user base to climb as more creators and developers abandon centralised social media. With new tools for feedback and personalisation, Bluesky may stand as the most trusted social platform for authentic, community-driven conversation.
— Text-to-Speech (TTS) provided by gspeech