Bluesky has surged into the top five most downloaded apps on the U.S. App Store this week, fueled by a mass migration of users frustrated by X’s controversial decision to alter its blocking functionality and enable AI training on personal user data.
The Exodus from X
The shift follows widespread backlash against X, now owned by Elon Musk, regarding significant changes to how the platform handles user blocks and data privacy. Beyond these policy updates, Bluesky is capturing a disillusioned audience weary of moderation instability on Meta’s Threads, where users have reported arbitrary account bans and suppressed post visibility. Meta has previously acknowledged that these issues were linked to internal software glitches within the platform’s moderation systems.
Market Performance and App Store Trends
Despite the ongoing controversy, X has not yet experienced a catastrophic decline in user acquisition, recording 17,000 new downloads between Tuesday and Thursday. However, the platform’s overall trajectory is sliding; it has fallen to No. 29 in the U.S. App Store rankings. According to data from Appfigures, while X is seeing a mild downward trend, this performance aligns with a broader 8.4% decline in the news category across the U.S. App Store this year.
Bluesky’s History of Rapid Growth
This is not the first time Bluesky has experienced a massive influx of new users. The platform previously saw explosive growth when it transitioned from an invite-only model to public access. Furthermore, the startup gained significant momentum during the ban of X in Brazil, which prompted half a million new sign-ups within the first 48 hours, with numbers continuing to climb steadily in the following weeks.
Milestone Growth
The momentum has translated into record-breaking numbers for the decentralized social network. Following the initial surge, Bluesky officially announced it had added 1 million new users in a single window, pushing its total registered user count to over 12 million.
