Bluesky, an emerging social networking startup vying to compete with X, formerly known as Twitter, has announced the official launch of its direct messaging (DM) feature. This unveiling, reported on Wednesday, signifies a strategic move towards enhancing user engagement on the platform. Looking ahead, Bluesky also plans to implement full support for end-to-end encrypted messaging.
The introduction of DMs transpired two weeks subsequent to Bluesky hinting at its imminent rollout. Prior to this development, all user interactions on Bluesky were public, making this new private messaging feature a notable shift. Users can now engage in private conversations without leaving the platform’s ecosystem.
To utilize the DM functionality, users can initiate private chats through the “Chat” tab within Bluesky’s mobile or desktop applications. Currently, the platform supports only one-to-one messaging, with no provision for group messaging at this stage.
This addition aligns Bluesky’s user experience more closely with that of X, bolstering its competitive position against Meta’s Threads, which does not currently offer an integrated DM feature. (Threads allows users to share posts to Instagram DMs instead.)
By default, Bluesky’s DM settings permit only followed users to send private messages. However, users have the option to adjust these settings to receive DMs from no one, only people they follow, or all Bluesky users.
Despite launching without several key features available on X, Bluesky has achieved remarkable progress. The platform has been systematically enhancing its services over the past year, positioning itself to potentially grow its user base as new capabilities are introduced.
One such enhancement is the recent ability for users to customize their main Discover feeds. By selecting “Show more like this” or “Show less like this,” users can refine the content displayed to them, mirroring a functionality similar to X’s “Not interested in this post” feature.
Boasting a user base of approximately 5.6 million, Bluesky is committed to further development, with notable features like video support and advanced anti-harassment tools on the horizon.
