Bluesky lets users choose their own algorithm
Bluesky is a social network where users choose the algorithm that ranks their feed, and where an account can move between apps on the same protocol and keep its followers. If you are building an audience, the second part matters most. It decides what happens to your followers if you ever leave.
Started by the CEO of Twitter
Bluesky began as a project started by Jack Dorsey in 2019, while he was CEO of Twitter. It became an independent company in 2021. Its stated founding mission is to drive adoption of open and decentralised technologies for public conversation.
That origin is odd. The head of a company that ran its own network started a project meant to spread public conversation across open technology that no single company owns. The public record gives the mission, not Dorsey's private reasons, so the fairer test is what Bluesky actually built.
Dorsey came up with the name Bluesky in 2019, two years before Jay Graber joined. Graber's given name, Lantian, means 'blue sky' in Mandarin. The match is a coincidence. Graber led the company as CEO until March 2026, then stepped down to become chief innovation officer, with Toni Schneider as interim CEO.
Invite codes, then a wave of Brazilian users
Bluesky was invite-only until February 2024, when it opened sign-ups to everyone. Until then, the only way in was through someone already on the network.
A ban elsewhere later sent a wave of new people its way. Bluesky said it gained more than 2.6 million users in a few days after the ban, and over 85% of them were Brazilian.
Growth has strained the system at times. Developer Paul Frazee once warned of outages because the platform had 'never seen traffic like this'.
As of August 2026, Bluesky had nearly 46 million registered users. It does not publish active-user figures, so that number counts accounts. It tells you nothing about how many people open the app each day.
What users control
Bluesky users choose their own feeds. Anyone can build one, and more than 40,000 algorithmic feeds exist to pick from. For a creator, a feed built around your subject reaches people who chose that subject on purpose, instead of people a single company's ranking decided to show you to.
Accounts are portable too. Federated hosting lets users move between servers, and on apps built on the AT Protocol, users can switch platforms and keep their audience, content and followers.
That portability has a boundary. It covers apps on the same protocol. Nothing in it moves your followers to Instagram, TikTok or YouTube.
What fits on Bluesky right now
Bluesky is built around short text. Posts are limited to 300 characters, including spaces. In January 2026 the company said its limits of three-minute videos and four photos per post were not enough and that it planned to improve media handling. Those limits may have changed since, so check the current app before planning a format around them.
Starter packs are worth setting up early. One pack can recommend up to 150 accounts and up to 3 custom feeds, which helps new followers find creators. If you share a pack built around your niche, you become part of how newcomers find that niche.
Anything beyond text, photos, short video and feeds is worth testing in the app yourself before you build a plan on it.
Turning existing content into Bluesky posts
A hypothetical: a creator has a long LinkedIn post making one argument about pricing. On Bluesky it becomes a short run of posts, each under 300 characters. The opening post has to carry the claim by itself, because many readers will see only that one. Cut the professional preamble. Keep the sharpest line and the example that proves it.
Another hypothetical: an Instagram carousel explaining a process. Pick the slides that still make sense alone, up to four, and write the post text so it explains them without the swipe. If the carousel depends on a reveal at the end, put the reveal in the text.
A third: a longer YouTube explainer. Cut the strongest moment into a clip under three minutes. It works if the clip stands alone. If it needs the setup from earlier in the video, it belongs somewhere else.
These moves fit when your content has a clear point that survives being shortened, and when your audience follows a specific subject. They fit poorly when the value of the piece lives in its length, production or visual polish.
Building an audience or renting one
In Perspectism's view, most platforms hold your followers on your behalf. That is a small distinction until the platform changes its rules, gets acquired or shuts down, and the audience you built stays behind with it. Bluesky's protocol lets you take your followers to another atproto app.
Bluesky's reach is hard to judge without active-user numbers. What its design does settle is where your followers live. Before putting effort into any platform, ask how much of what you build there could leave with you, and which of your existing pieces actually suit the format.
Frequently asked questions
Who started Bluesky?
Jack Dorsey started it in 2019 while he was CEO of Twitter, and it became an independent company in 2021. Jay Graber led it as CEO until March 2026, when Graber became chief innovation officer and Toni Schneider became interim CEO.
Can you keep your followers if you leave Bluesky?
Within apps built on the AT Protocol, yes. Users can switch atproto platforms and keep their audience, content and followers, and federated hosting lets them move between servers. That portability does not reach networks outside the protocol.
How long can a Bluesky post be?
Text posts are limited to 300 characters, including spaces. As of January 2026, videos were limited to three minutes and posts to four photos, and Bluesky said it planned to improve media handling.