Bluesky introduces group chats and shifts focus to communities as user growth levels off at 44.8 million.

      Bluesky introduced group chats (for up to 50 participants) and is developing Reddit-like communities with custom handles. Its growth has slowed, having 44.8 million users compared to X's 600 million.

      On Thursday, Bluesky launched group chats and announced plans for broader community features, marking a shift for the social network that has primarily centered on open public posting. The current version supports group chats with a participant limit of 50, which the company may expand in the future.

      This feature is part of version 1.124 of the app, allowing chat creators to control participation and generate invite links that appear as embedded cards in Bluesky posts. Users can choose who can invite them: everyone, only those they follow, or no one. Currently, media sharing in group chats is unavailable due to the need for more safety and moderation systems.

      More notably, Bluesky plans to develop communities—smaller spaces within the platform for deeper engagement on shared interests. Each community will have its own handle functioning as a URL, such as community-name.bsky.social. These communities can be public, invite-only, or private.

      According to Head of Product Alex Benzer, "Today, Bluesky is one big space. Communities will be smaller areas where users can engage more deeply with like-minded individuals." These new features will utilize the underlying AT Protocol and benefit from the broader developer ecosystem.

      This timing is intentional, as X discontinued its Communities feature in April due to low usage and spam. Bluesky aims to attract users seeking more control over their online communities without reliance on Big Tech. Its Attie app already allows users to personalize their feeds with AI, and Communities extend this concept to group interactions.

      The platform’s pivot reflects a growth issue. Bluesky has 44.8 million registered users, while X boasts 600 million monthly active users, and Threads has even more. If Bluesky fails to reach those numbers, it must offer a different value proposition. Communities and group chats provide something X and Threads lack: user-controlled spaces on an open protocol, where moderation is governed by the community instead of the platform.

      In contrast, X has shifted focus by introducing a standalone XChat messaging app while discontinuing its group community features. Bluesky is betting that small, curated spaces are more significant than extensive public reach, particularly for users seeking alternatives to platforms run by Musk or Meta.

      An open question remains: is 44.8 million users sufficient to foster thriving communities? Reddit thrives due to community critical mass, and Bluesky's total user base is smaller than many individual subreddits. The launch of group chats and the roadmap for communities indicate a recognition that mere growth is insufficient and that depth of engagement may hold greater importance than sheer numbers.

      Published June 11, 2026 - 8:15 pm UTC