X users jump to Bluesky - but what is it and who owns it?

You whitethorn person seen the connection "Bluesky" popping up connected your societal media pages precocious and wondered what radical are talking about.

It is an alternate level to Elon Musk's X and it presumption of its colour and logo, it looks rather similar.

Bluesky is increasing rapidly and is presently picking up astir 1 cardinal caller sign-ups a day.

It had 16.7m users astatine the clip of writing, but that fig volition apt beryllium outdated by the clip you work this.

So what is it - and wherefore are truthful galore radical joining?

Bluesky describes itself arsenic "social media arsenic it should be", though it looks akin to different sites.

Visually, a barroom to the near of the leafage shows everything you mightiness expect - search, notifications, a homepage and truthful on.

People utilizing the level tin post, comment, repost and similar their favourite things.

To enactment it simply, it looks however X, formerly known arsenic Twitter, utilized to look.

The main quality is Bluesky is decentralised - a analyzable word which fundamentally means it runs connected servers that are not owned by the institution itself.

This means that alternatively than being constricted to having a circumstantial relationship owned by the company, radical tin (if they like) motion up utilizing an relationship they themselves own.

But it is worthy stating that the immense bulk of radical don't bash that and a caller joiner volition astir apt person a ".bsky.social" astatine the extremity of their username.

If you deliberation it feels a batch similar X, you won't beryllium amazed to larn why. The erstwhile caput of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, created it.

He adjacent erstwhile said helium wanted Bluesky to beryllium a decentralised mentation of Twitter that nary azygous idiosyncratic oregon entity owns.

But Mr Dorsey is nary longer portion of the squad down it, having stepped down from the committee successful May 2024.

He deleted his relationship altogether successful September.

It is present tally and predominantly owned by main enforcement Jay Graber arsenic a US nationalist payment corporation.

Bluesky has been astir since 2019, but it was invitation-only until February of this year.

That fto the developers woody with each the kinks behind-the-scenes, to effort and stabilise it earlier opening the doors to the wider public.

The program has worked, somewhat. But the flurry of caller users has been truthful important successful November that determination proceed to beryllium issues with outages.

It is nary coincidence that the fig of caller Bluesky users spiked pursuing Donald Trump's occurrence successful the US elections successful November.

X's owner, Mr Musk, was a large backer of Trump during his campaign, and volition beryllium heavy progressive successful his administration.

Inevitably, this has led to a governmental division, with immoderate radical leaving X successful protest.

But others person cited antithetic reasons, specified arsenic the Guardian paper which has chosen to halt posting determination arsenic it called X "a toxic media platform".

Meanwhile, Bluesky's app continues to prime up important downloads worldwide and connected Thursday was the apical escaped app successful the Apple App Store successful the UK.

Several celebrities, from popular vocalist Lizzo to Taskmaster's Greg Davies, person announced they are joining the level and limiting their usage of - oregon successful immoderate cases leaving altogether - X.

Other names you mightiness recognise see Ben Stiller, Jamie Lee Curtis and Patton Oswalt.

But this growth, portion significant, volition person to proceed for a agelong clip earlier Bluesky is capable to equine a existent situation to its microblogging rival.

X does not stock its full idiosyncratic numbers but it is understood to beryllium measured successful the hundreds of millions, with Elon Musk previously saying the level had 250 cardinal users each day.

It is the cardinal dollar question, rather literally.

Bluesky started disconnected with backing from investors and task superior firms and has raised tens of millions of dollars done these means.

But with truthful galore caller users, it is going to person to find a mode to wage the bills.

Back successful Twitter's heyday, the tract made the immense bulk of its wealth done advertising.

Bluesky has said it wants to debar this. Instead, it said it volition proceed to look into paid services, specified arsenic having radical wage for customized domains successful their username.

That sounds analyzable but it fundamentally comes down to a person's username being adjacent much personalised.

For example, it whitethorn mean my username - @twgerken.bsky.social - could successful the aboriginal beryllium a much official-sounding, specified arsenic @twgerken.bbc.co.uk.

Proponents of this thought accidental it doubles-up arsenic a signifier of verification arsenic the organisation which owns the website would person to wide its use.

If Bluesky's owners proceed to debar advertising, they whitethorn inevitably person to look to different broader options, specified arsenic subscription features, arsenic a mode of keeping the lights on.

But if it is not making precise overmuch money, that would not beryllium antithetic for tech startups.

In fact, Twitter, earlier it was purchased by Mr Musk successful 2022, lone made a nett doubly successful its 8 years of being publically traded.

And we each cognize however that ended - a monolithic payday for investors erstwhile the world's richest antheral paid $44bn (£34.7bn) for the privilege of owning it.

For now, the aboriginal of Bluesky remains unknown, but if its maturation continues, thing is possible.