BlueSky’s Stability and the Growing Ecosystem of Open Protocols

BlueSky, a social media platform, has seen steady growth, with its user base increasing from 10 million in November 2024 to nearly 37 million by June 2025. Despite claims of a decline in its user base, BlueSky remains stable, with its traffic levels holding steady in recent months. Some critics, particularly from conservative outlets, have argued that BlueSky is ‘sliding down a slope’ or declining. However, the real story is not the growth of BlueSky itself, but the wider ecosystem of apps that utilize its open-source AT Protocol. The protocol, which powers BlueSky, is being used to create a variety of new social experiences, allowing for more personalized social networking, such as platforms tailored to specific communities or interests. Apps like Blacksky cater to the Black community, and Gander Social focuses on Canadian users. The open protocol also allows developers to build custom feeds for specific interests, such as video games or sports, and combine them with content from other social platforms. BlueSky’s CEO, Jay Graber, views the platform as part of a broader shift towards decentralized social networking, where users can create their own experiences rather than conforming to the norms of centralized platforms. While BlueSky has yet to fully address monetization, the focus is on its open protocol, which could eventually power a diverse range of social experiences beyond the platform itself.