Bluesky sees 2 million new users in one week, blamed for X (formerly Twitter) being banned in Brazil

It was found that the number of Bluesky users increased by 2 million in the week leading up to September 3, 2024. This is believed to be due to the ban of X (formerly Twitter) in Brazil on August 31. More than 20 million people use X in Brazil, and many of them were left without a place to use due to the ban.

TWO MILLION new people in the last week! a very warm welcome! ????

DOIS MILHÕES de pessoas novas na última semana! uma calorosa recepção a todos! ????

— Bluesky ( @bsky.app ) Sep 3, 2024 at 4:24

Bluesky added 2 million new users in a week following Brazil's X ban
https://www.engadget.com/social-media/bluesky-added-2-million-new-users-in-a-week-following-brazils-x-ban-140032112.html

Bluesky continues to soar, adding 2M more new users in a matter of days | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/03/bluesky-continues-to-soar-adding-2m-more-new-users-in-a-matter-of-days/

According to research firm Appfigures, Bluesky has become the number one app in the Brazilian app store in terms of downloads, and in the past week, app downloads in Brazil have increased by 1,018,952% compared to the previous week. Its popularity in Brazil has also spread to neighboring regions, with downloads increasing in Portugal and Argentina, where it was previously almost unpopular.

A Bluesky engineer reported that the platform's total number of likes has increased 8x over the past four days compared to the previous week, total follows have increased 77x, reposts have increased 8x, and new users have increased 81x, adding that 'this just shows how insane this is.'

Some numbers from the past 96 hours compared to a 96 hour period a week ago:

13M likes -> 104.6M likes
1.4M follows -> 100.8M follows
1.3M reposts -> 11M reposts
26k new users -> 2.11M new users

This really drives home how insane the increase in activity around here has been

Welcome to Bluesky :)

— Jaz ( @jaz.bsky.social ) Sep 3, 2024 at 14:12

The sudden increase in Bluesky users is believed to be due to the ban of X in Brazil. Since April 2024, X has been challenging the Brazilian Supreme Court's order to freeze certain accounts, which has resulted in the closure of offices in Brazil and the suspension of services due to the Supreme Court's order.

It is believed that users who were shut out of X in this way moved to Bluesky, which offers a similar service. Bluesky, perhaps sensing this, also issued a welcome message in Portuguese in addition to English.