Twitter alternative Bluesky, which is backed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, is now available for Android users.
The app which was launched on the Apple Play Store in February this year is now available on the Google Play Store, however, users cannot access it yet as it is only accessible by invitation, which will see selected individuals join the waitlist to try the beta version before it is rolled out publicly.
According to the app’s website, the “social internet” of the future will give users more options and creators independence from platforms.
Demands for Bluesky are reportedly picking up, despite some of its challenges which the company promises to address. Reports reveal that Bluesky has seen 240,000 lifetime installs on iOS, 135, 000 of which were just this month, up 39 percent from March,
The app has several Twitter-like features that let users create posts with photos, let users search for and follow other users, retweet features, and many more. Although, Bluesky also has distinctive features that set it apart from Twitter, such as basic tools for tracking likes or bookmarks, editing tweets, quote-tweeting, and more.
Bluesky came into existence in 2019, from the idea of an open-source or decentralized social network protocol which would itself consist of multiple different social networks running on different content moderation rules.
The app is designed to let users decide how they want to see and consume social media. For developers, an open marketplace of algorithms will provide the freedom to experiment with and publish algorithms that anyone can use. For users, the ability to customize their feed will give them back control of their most valuable resource.
Bluesky’s mission is to drive the evolution from platforms to protocols. The conceptual framework the platform adopted for meeting this objective is the self-authenticating protocol.
Investors King understands that for many, Bluesky represents the hope of a Twitter alternative where the core concepts around short-form posts and a shared timeline remain. The launch of the app follows with other Twitter alternatives such as Mastodon and Hive, which gained prominence when Musk took over from Twitter, carrying out a series of revamps that some users were displeased with as they sought alternatives.
With Bluesky keen on improving its app with the introduction of more advanced features, and also having Twitter Ex-CEO Jack Dorsey as the CEO, who has experience on how to grow the app, it is not far-fetched to say that Bluesky might be a strong rival to Twitter in the future.
