X-rival Bluesky is losing active users
What's the story
Bluesky, a decentralized social network that saw a massive influx of users from Elon Musk's X, following the US elections in November 2024, is now facing a decline in its user base. According to Similarweb data, the number of monthly active users (MAUs) for Bluesky's mobile app stood at 10.4 million globally in June 2026, a drop of 27.2% year-on-year. The decline indicates that while Bluesky's app continues to add registered accounts, fewer people are using it regularly.
User retention
User decline since post-election bump
The decline in Bluesky's user base isn't just a post-election bump.
The app has lost over half its MAUs since late 2024, indicating a continued decline even after the initial post-election surge.
In Q4 2024, the average number of monthly active users was around 22.1 million, which has now dropped to 10.7 million in Q2 2026, a staggering decline of about 52%.
User engagement
Bluesky users still engaged
Despite the decline in numbers, Bluesky's remaining users are still pretty active. The platform has a stickiness rate (the ratio of daily to monthly active users) of about 29% in June, which is on par with Threads.
Strategic shift
New CEO focuses on underlying protocol
Under the leadership of new CEO Toni Schneider, Bluesky is focusing on its underlying protocol (AT Proto) instead of just the app itself.
The company is enabling this protocol to power more social apps, services, and communities. Projects like BlackSky and Eurosky are already growing under this strategy.
Plus, Bluesky has launched new products such as AI-powered research tool Attie and is working on private data support.