Jack Dorsey's Decentralized Twitter Alternative Bluesky Debuts on the App Store

by Kay Lee

Twitter co-founder and ex-CEO Jack Dorsey launched the decentralized alternative to his own brainchild Twitter – a new social network called Bluesky. The app has arrived on the App Store in closed beta as an invite-only social network for now. Interested users can submit their email addresses to join the waitlist.

Bluesky is practically identical to Twitter in terms of design and functionality, but is based on the open social protocol called Authenticated Transfer Protocol (AT Protocol), which offers the means of creating a federated and decentralized social network.

Bluesky features separate tabs for home, search, and notifications, as well as a repost feature – the interface is very similar to Twitter. It also allows you to post messages of up to 256 characters and attach photos. There's no information yet about when or if Bluesky will come to Android.

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The Internet ProtocolKay Lee

Bluesky originated in 2019 as a Twitter-funded side project that Dorsey saw as a more open alternative to an increasingly centralized Twitter. It spun off as a standalone company last year after concerns about the company's future following Elon Musk's Twitter takeover. Jack Dorsey now serves on Bluesky's board of directors.