Bluesky, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey-led platform hits App store as invite-only app

The App Store has recently made Bluesky, a Twitter alternative supported by Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, available for more testers. Even though the app is still in its beta phase and can only be accessed by invitation, its appearance on the App Store suggests that it may be released to the public soon, reported TechCrunch.

Since October 2022, there hasn't been much news about Bluesky. The team responsible for the project shared an update on the Bluesky blog during that time, which discussed the state of the social protocol that underlies its new app, also called Bluesky.

The Bluesky project, now operating as a public benefit company, was first developed within Twitter in 2019 when Jack Dorsey was the CEO. Twitter also provided financial support for several years. Although the project was initiated before the company's acquisition by its current owner, Elon Musk, the two executives had recently discussed the concept of an open source protocol via text messages prior to Musk's purchase of Twitter.

The Bluesky app is now available to the public, and some users are receiving invitations to test it out. Data.ai, an app intelligence firm, reported that the Bluesky iOS app was introduced on February 17, 2023, and has been downloaded by over 2,000 users. Since it is still in its invite-only phase, this probably only includes recently added beta testers. Currently, the app is not ranking on any Top Charts in the United States, and it is not yet available on Google Play.

Is Twitter supporting Bluesky?

During a text exchange, Dorsey explained to Musk that a new platform was necessary and couldn't be a company, which was the reason he left Twitter. After stepping down from his CEO role, Dorsey publicly discussed Bluesky on Twitter as an open decentralized standard for social media, around the time Twitter banned President Trump from its platform. Dorsey believed Bluesky would reduce the power centralized platforms like Twitter have in deciding which users and communities could engage in speech and moderating content.

With Musk now running Twitter, it's unclear how the two projects may remain linked. Bluesky stated that it received USD13 million to conduct R&D and that Jack Dorsey was on its board. Twitter's funding of Bluesky was only subject to one condition, which was to research and develop technologies that enable open and decentralised public conversation.

However, Twitter has been significantly reducing its costs, including layoffs, auctions, office closures, and unpaid bills, so it would be surprising if a project like Bluesky remained a priority.