Ready for the showdown of Twitter competitors? Here’s Threads vs Bluesky. It’s safe to say Twitter has fallen in popularity over the last couple of years. However, there are some exciting new rivals emerging to the text-based social media platform. Two of these are Bluesky and Threads.
Threads vs Bluesky – introduction
As social media evolves, questions are being asked about the decentralization of these platforms. Users are becoming more interested in decentralized networks, compared to older social media networks with a centralized network system. A major example of this is Bluesky, which is an offshoot of Twitter – now an independent platform and competitor to Elon Musk’s Twitter. On the other hand, there is Threads. This is a Twitter-style platform from Meta, the parent company of Instagram and one of the largest internet-based companies in the world. You can access it via your Instagram account.
In the article below, we will compare and discuss which is better, Threads or Bluesky. Continue reading to learn more about their comparison.
Bluesky overview
Bluesky is a Twitter-like platform that aims to provide an interoperable and open source social media platform, with higher levels of privacy and security. The app launched as a public beta version in February this year but has existed in a smaller form since 2021. It is run by a small, independent team, and started off as an off-shoot of Twitter. Since then, it has become a real contender as a major Twitter alternative, with many people hunting down those all-important invite codes, which you’ll need to set up an account.
The app lets you post short, written, posts along with other forms of media content, like photos and videos. Although the app is in its beta phase right now, we’re expecting some exciting new features including multiple servers with different algorithms to suit your needs.
It aims to enhance data privacy, decentralize control, and promote the end user’s powers. Bluesky sees a future where social media platforms are built using a common standard that allows users to share their content and communicate safely and securely.
Threads overview
Threads is a social platform run by Meta, which also owns Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp. It is similar to Twitter – that is, a text-based platform where you can share short, written posts along with images, videos, and other forms of media. Both platforms incorporate newsfeeds, employ heart-shaped symbols to enable users to express their appreciation for others’ content and offer the functionality to repost or share posts.
You can set up an account using your Instagram login for easy access, or create one if you haven’t done so already.
Threads vs Bluesky: Some Key Factors to Consider
Here is a comparison table of Bluesky vs Threads:
| Features | Threads | Bluesky |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | Publicly available | Invite-only |
| Platform | iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Character limit | 500 | 300 |
| Functionality | Similar to Twitter | More focused on conversations |
| Privacy | Meta-owned | Decentralized |
| Monetization | Not yet implemented | Not yet implemented |
Development
Both these projects are still developing and experimental, with further research ongoing daily.
The brains behind Bluesky is Jack Dorsey, former CEO and co-founder of Twitter, along with other major players like current Bluesky CEO Jay Graber. Although the organization was originally an offshoot of Twitter, it has become independent from the company and has recently raised $8m in a seed funding round.
Threads, on the other hand, has been and will continue to be developed by Meta, under CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Community Involvement
Bluesky is an open-source program, which means the coding for it can be accessed by any member of the public. This makes it a pretty democratic social network, as far as such things go. On the other hand, Threads is privately sourced, owned and edited by Meta. However, both apps are based on conversations (and yes, there will be hashtags), which encourages some degree of community involvement.
Control and Privacy
Threads has come under fire in some places for a lack of data privacy and user control. This is visible in how it fails to match up to the European Union’s DMA.
Bluesky, on the other hand, focuses more on a decentralized and open standard that also aligns with control and privacy. However, all this is further subjected to close monitoring of their privacy and security settings as they continue developing in the future.
FAQs
Can Anyone join Bluesky or Threads?
Bluesky is only accessible to those with an invite code. You can get one of these from another Bluesky user – either by asking them in person or online.
Threads, on the other hand, is supposedly available to all with an Instagram login (or you can create an account). However, it is currently being rolled out, so is just for US and UK users at the moment, although this should change relatively soon.
Threads vs Bluesky: Conclusion
Both these projects are in their early stages of development. Therefore, it can be too early to say which one is better or will be in the future. We can compare more comprehensively as time passes and their features and unique capabilities are revealed. Ultimately, it will depend upon the individual user’s special preference or liking. Until then, we will have to wait and see how it goes.
