Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who is also among the big names losing their legacy blue ticks courtesy of new chief Elon Musk, has brought his new micro-blogging platform and Twitter rival called Bluesky to Android users.
Bluesky, backed by Dorsey, offers a host of new features and was initially launched to iOS users in February in a closed beta.
With Bluesky, users will eventually be able to select from a marketplace of algorithms to take control of what appears in their personal feeds as opposed to having it dictated to them by a centralised authority. However, the app does not include basic tools for tracking likes or bookmarks, editing tweets, quote-tweeting, DM’s, using hashtags and more.
“According to app intelligence firm data.ai, Bluesky has seen 240,000-lifetime installs on iOS, 135,000 of which were just this month, up 39 percent from March’s 97,000,” said TechCrunch.
Bluesky clearly intends to increase that number now that the app is available on Android. On Google Play, the app shows over 10,000 downloads currently.
The app offers a simplified user interface where you can click a plus button to create a post of 256 characters, which can include photos.
While Twitter asks "What's happening?", Bluesky asks "What's up?"
Bluesky users can share, mute and block accounts, but advanced tools, like adding them to lists, are not yet available.
The Discover tab at the bottom centre of the app's navigation is useful, offering more "who to follow" suggestions and a feed of recently posted Bluesky updates.
"Another tab lets you check on your Notifications, including likes, reposts, follows and replies, also much like Twitter. There are no DMs," according to the report.
Also Read: A look at Bluesky, the Jack Dorsey-led decentralised social network that could rival Twitter
You can search for and follow other individuals, much like on Twitter, and then view their updates in a Home timeline.
User profiles contain a profile pic, background, bio and metrics.
The Bluesky project originated with Twitter in 2019, but the company was established in 2022 as an independent company focused on decentralised social network R&D.
After leaving Twitter, Dorsey spoke about Bluesky, describing it as "an open decentralised standard for social media".
Bluesky last year received $13 million in funding with Dorsey on its board.
(With IANS inputs)
Also Read: Elon Musk haters are not just heading to Jack Dorsey's Bluesky — Here are 5 alternatives to Twitter
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