X ban sees users in Brazil flock to rival Bluesky

Social media startup Bluesky has seen a huge surge in new users following a complete ban of X. formerly Twitter, in Brazil.

The X rival saw two million signups after a Brazilian Supreme Court judge ordered the Elon Musk-owned platform to be blocked in the country for failing to appoint a new legal representative.

Friday’s ruling, which was upheld by other judges of the Supreme Court on Monday, resulted in “new all-time-highs for activity” on Bluesky, the app announced.

“Two million new people in the last week! A very warm welcome,” stated a message posted to the official Bluesky account, alongside an accompanying message in portuguese.

Bluesky, which was founded by former Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, offers similar functionality to X but is based on a decentralised framework that is aimed at transparent communication between users.

Its underlying architecture is also designed to limit influence from corporations, governments or individuals, while also putting users in control of their own data.

The app previously saw an influx of new users shortly after launching on Android and iOS in 2023, largely driven by Mr Musk’s takeover of Twitter. The rush of signups forced Bluesky to temporarily block new users from joining.

The decision to ban X in Brazil saw Bluesky top the app charts in the country, just ahead of fellow rival Threads. Data from app intelligence firm Appfigures revealed that downloads of Bluesky in Brazil were up more than one million per cent following the ban.

User numbers are still relatively small compared to X, with the company revealing in May that it had around 6 million users. X had an estimated 20 million users in Brazil before the ban was introduced.

Brazil president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva bid farewell to his X followers ahead of the ban being implemented last week, sharing links to his official accounts on other social media platforms, including Bluesky.