Bluesky, a Twitter alternative developed by Jack Dorsey, has been released for Android smartphones by invitation only, following its debut in the Apple App Store in February.

The programme, like Twitter, allows users to search for and follow other users, write posts with photographs, and more. However, because it is still in beta, it has a small user base (about 25,000) and lacks capabilities such as direct messaging.

Bluesky was founded in 2019 as a Twitter-supported initiative with the goal of establishing a new decentralised standard for social media networks. It split from Twitter in 2021 and has since become one of the many new Twitter clones that have developed since Elon Musk’s acquisition, including Mastodon.

Last month, CEO Jay Graber stated that the app allows users to choose their favourite social media experience. He elaborated:

An open marketplace of algorithms will allow developers to experiment with and publish algorithms that anybody can use. Users will regain control of their most precious resource: their attention, if they can customise their feed.

Graber disclosed in a recent blog post that moderation is the final piece of the puzzle before releasing the app to the public. “We wanted to prioritise user safety from the beginning,” he explained. The app will use a combination of automated filtering and admin-controlled server-level moderation. Following that, “users will be able to subscribe to additional sets of moderation labels that can filter out more content or accounts.”