Bluesky rolled out support for group chats on Thursday, adding another feature aimed at helping it better compete with X. While Elon Musk’s X has leaned further into messaging with its new standalone XChat app, Bluesky is now catching up by giving users a way to interact more privately in groups. The new capability, available in version 1.124 of the app, is among the first to reflect Bluesky’s strategic shift toward building communities instead of focusing purely on public broadcasting. This change in direction comes as the platform’s rapid growth has begun to slow. Today, the network has approximately 44.8 million registered users, in contrast to X’s 600 million monthly active users. If Bluesky fails to match the scale of rivals like X or Meta’s Threads, it will likely have to explore fresh approaches to appeal to potential users—such as providing new kinds of social interaction. ScreenshotImage Credits:Bluesky. In 2024, the startup introduced messaging functionality, but it has only lately started providing encrypted chats by incorporating the third-party service Germ. Bluesky now supports group chats with a maximum of 50 participants, according to its announcement. While this falls short of X’s 1,000-member capacity, it represents a positive first step. The company also indicated that this limit could be raised later on. According to the company, group chat creators have full control over their chats and can choose exactly who is allowed to join. They can create a shareable invite link that works anywhere on the web, including in Bluesky posts where it appears as an embedded card. Meanwhile, chat participants can choose who’s allowed to invite them—everyone, only people they follow, or no one. By default, direct messages will be restricted to “only people you follow,” though users can choose a different setting. Bluesky notes that sharing media in group chats isn’t supported yet, as it will require additional safety and moderation tools.
Image Credits: Bluesky
