Bluesky Faces Decline in Active Users Amid Broader Strategic Shift Beyond the App
Bluesky, a decentralized social network, initially gained significant traction during the mass migration from Elon Musk’s X platform in November 2024, after the U.S. elections. However, nearly two years later, the platform is facing challenges in maintaining its growth.
Recent analysis from digital intelligence firm Similarweb reveals that Bluesky’s mobile application saw a decline in monthly active users, dropping to 10.4 million globally in June 2026, a decrease of 27.2% compared to the previous year. Additionally, daily active users fell by 25.6% year-over-year in July, resulting in approximately 3 million users engaging with the app daily.
These numbers indicate that while Bluesky continues to gain new registered accounts, engagement from existing users is waning. This trend suggests that many individuals who joined Bluesky out of dissatisfaction with X post-elections have not remained loyal users.
More critically, the platform has seen a significant reduction in monthly active users since late 2024, losing over half its user base after the initial surge. According to Similarweb, the app accounted for about 22.1 million monthly active users in the fourth quarter of 2024, but this number plummeted to 10.7 million by the second quarter of 2026, reflecting a 52% decrease.
Beyond Bluesky
Despite the decline in user numbers, those remaining on the platform display a strong commitment. Bluesky’s community engagement appears solid, with a “stickiness” rate of approximately 29% in June, comparable to that of Threads.
Newly appointed CEO Toni Schneider may not view these figures as alarming. The company is not solely focused on the success of the Bluesky app, but is also dedicated to the AT Proto protocol, which enables a variety of social applications and communities. This initiative is already showing promise, with new projects like BlackSky and Eurosky emerging, as well as early success for video-oriented apps such as Skylight.
Additionally, Bluesky has introduced new offerings, including an AI-powered research tool named Attie, and is exploring support for private data sharing. These developments aim to attract users more interested in private interactions rather than open discussions.
Moreover, the data from Similarweb does not necessarily indicate a mass migration back to X among Bluesky users. Instead, X’s mobile monthly active users decreased by roughly 3% year-over-year in June, with a 7% drop in daily active users in July, totaling 123.7 million. Nevertheless, X remains a large social media network, boasting around 302 million monthly active users as of June 2026, alongside a growing number of web visits, which increased by 5.3% year-over-year in July to 4.7 billion.
Currently, Threads appears to be the new contender, with its rise bringing uncertainty about whether its growth stems from Bluesky’s decline in user activity or from attracting a fresh audience unfamiliar with platforms like Twitter.
As for Threads, its daily active users surged by 21.3% year-over-year to reach 147 million in July 2026, while its website traffic skyrocketed by 112% to 471.6 million.
Bluesky reports having nearly 46 million registered users, although it hasn’t disclosed specific statistics regarding daily or monthly active users.
