Jack Dorsey on Bluesky’s growth: Users are running away X, not running to something on Bluesky

Bluesky

Jack Dorsey, co-founder of both X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky, recently shared his thoughts on why Bluesky has been growing rapidly. Speaking on the “In Good Company” podcast, Dorsey suggested that Bluesky’s growth is largely driven by users leaving X rather than being drawn to Bluesky for its unique features.

“I think people are running away from X, rather than running to something on Bluesky,” Dorsey remarked. He emphasised that while user migration can boost numbers, it is not the ideal way to build a successful platform. “We want people that are running to us for a particular thing that they couldn't do before.”

Bluesky originated in 2019 as an internal Twitter project when Dorsey was still CEO. By 2021, it had become an independent public benefit corporation. Since then, the decentralised social network has continued to attract users, especially amid ongoing controversies surrounding X.

Dorsey, who stepped down as Twitter’s CEO in 2021 and left its board in 2022, highlighted one of Bluesky’s standout features—the ability to choose custom algorithms through an “algorithm store.” He sees this as a long-term draw for users, offering greater control over their social media experience.

"That is a reason why people will run to it eventually," he explained. But it's not something that people care about right now, he added. “What they care about right now is not being in X for whatever personal reason,” said Dorsey.

Bluesky experienced a surge in user signups in November, following mass departures from X after President Donald Trump’s election, an event financially backed by Elon Musk. Officially launched in February 2024 with approximately 3 million users, Bluesky saw rapid growth, reaching 25.9 million users by year-end, according to company data.