One of the buzziest post-Twitter apps hit a big milestone on Tuesday.
Rose Wang, who works on strategy and operations for Bluesky, shared a screenshot of the moment on X, formerly Twitter. The X competitor famously only extended access to the app through a waitlist and invitations from existing users, intentionally keeping the platform’s population to a cozy size as it scales.
While we previously reported that Bluesky passed 1 million installs in July, it hadn’t actually hit the 1 million user mark until now. Wang explained the discrepancy in a reply to TechCrunch on X, noting that more people downloaded the app than actually had invite codes to log into it. Bluesky’s fresh milestone means that 1 million people were able to actually create an account, not just grab the app.
Threads, Meta’s own X/Twitter competitor, employed the opposite strategy. That app saw a massive launch-day spike in signups driven by Meta’s decision to cross-promote the app to existing Instagram users. With such a buttery onboarding process, it’s no wonder that Threads racked up 30 million signups in less than 24 hours. Within five days, Threads had crossed the 100 million mark.
While Bluesky activity at least appears to be chugging along well among its tiny but enthusiastic cohort of early adopters, Threads may not be able to say the same for the 100-million-plus people who hopped onto the new app in its earliest days.
Threads usage has tapered off some and it’s not clear at all what kind of culture — beyond corporate culture — the platform might cultivate. A foil to Threads in almost every way, Bluesky’s own subculture quickly defined itself with surreal memes, dedicated shitposting and a whimsical, pervasive horniness.