Bluesky sees sharp drop in active users as it pivots to protocol growth

Bluesky, once a major beneficiary of users fleeing Elon Musk's X after the 2024 U.S. elections, is now confronting a steep decline in active usage. Similarweb reports that its mobile monthly active users dropped 27.2% year-over-year to 10.4 million in June 2026, and daily active users fell 25.6% to about 3 million in July, despite continued growth in registered accounts. The platform has lost more than half of its peak monthly active base from late 2024, shrinking from roughly 22.1 million to 10.7 million by the second quarter of 2026.

CEO Toni Schneider says the company is redirecting effort toward the AT Proto protocol, supporting emerging apps like BlackSky, Eurosky, and the video-centric Skylight, while also rolling out the AI-powered research tool Attie and private-data capabilities. Competitor Threads saw daily users rise 21.3% year-over-year, and X’s mobile audience slipped only modestly, suggesting Bluesky’s challenges are not simply users returning to X. Bluesky reports about 46 million total registrations but provides no detailed active-user metrics.