Jack Dorsey’s Twitter alternative is now available on App Store: Know more about Bluesky here

Bluesky, a new social media platform created as a Twitter alternative, backed by Jack Dorsey, is now available in beta on App Store (iOS). 

The catch is it is currently available ]as an invite-only, meaning very few testers/users can experience it. 

“We really are still in beta, but DM me if you want an invite,” tweeted Jay Graber, CEO of Bluesky. 

We really are still in beta, but DM me if you want an invite!

— Jay Graber 🦋 (@arcalinea) March 1, 2023

Bluesky, which is now a public benefit company, was created in 2019 as a project within Twitter. 

The bluesky project originated with Twitter in 2019, but the Bluesky PBLLC established this year is an independent company focused on decentralized social network R&D.

— bluesky (@bluesky) April 25, 2022

The micro-blogging company also funded Bluesky with around $13M without any condition except one: “Bluesky is to research and develop technologies that enable open and decentralised public conversation.”

Twitter's funding of Bluesky is not subject to any conditions except one: that Bluesky is to research and develop technologies that enable open and decentralized public conversation.

— bluesky (@bluesky) April 25, 2022

According to TechCrunch, Bluesky features a simplified user interface where users can click the ‘+’ button to create a post of 256 characters with photos. 

Overall look and feel of Bluesky are similar to Twitter, right from home, search, and notification tabs. Users can search and follow other individuals and view their updates in their timelines. 

However, what differentiates Bluesky from Twitter is its protocol, AT Protocol (Authenticated Transfer Protocol).

This protocol would allow various social media networks to interact with one another. Bluesky is the first app to run on this protocol.

Imagine if your social media account was hosted in a git repository. You could choose to use a site like Github, but could also easily move to others like Gitlab or Bitbucket. This is essentially how Bluesky's AT Protocol handles user data. pic.twitter.com/RwHBB5NhQg

— Jay Graber 🦋 (@arcalinea) October 29, 2022

Explaining the AT Protocol, Bluesky says, “Instead of one site running the network, you can have many sites. It means you get a choice of provider, and individuals and businesses can self-host if they want.” 

Bluesky also mentioned this would offer: 

• Interoperability 
• Account portability
• Open algorithms 

“We’re calling the application we’re building Bluesky because it will be a portal to the world of possibility on top of the AT Protocol,” says the blog.