Is Twitter In Trouble? Jack Dorsey-Backed Bluesky Now Available On Google Play Store

Bluesky, a Twitter alternative backed by Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, is now available on Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google Play Store, after rolling out on Apple‘s App Store in February. 

But Wait: However, there’s a catch — users need to join the waitlist or get an invite code from a friend to access the service, reported The Verge. The current Bluesky community comprises only 25,000 people, and users may not be able to follow the same individuals as on other social media platforms. Additionally, basic functionalities such as direct messaging still need to be included. 

See Also: Jack Dorsey Not Exactly Impressed With Elon Musk’s Twitter: ‘Biggest Mistake I Made Was…’

Despite these limitations, it is still a welcome relief for users who intend to break away from Elon Musk‘s Twitter 2.0, which is expected to remove the legacy blue verified checkmark starting Thursday.

Why It Matters: The Bluesky project was originally incubated within Twitter in 2019, long before Elon Musk acquired the company. 

According to Dorsey, it is now a public benefit company and “an open decentralized standard for social media.” 

In April 2022, Bluesky scored $12 million in funding with Dorsey on its board. The platform at the time said that Twitter’s funding of Bluesky was “not subject to any conditions except one.” The condition was that Bluesky would research and develop technologies that enable open and decentralized public conversation. 

However, with Musk as Twitter CEO, it is still being determined how Twitter and Bluesky may remain intertwined.

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