Bluesky has introduced support for group chats in its latest app update, marking a major step in its effort to build more community-driven social features. The update is designed to give users a more private way to interact in smaller groups, moving beyond the platform’s usual public posting style.
The feature arrives in version 1.124 of the app and reflects Bluesky’s growing focus on building stronger communities within the platform. Instead of relying only on public timelines where posts are visible to everyone, the company is now trying to create spaces where users can connect with people who share similar interests in a more controlled environment.
This move also comes at a time when Bluesky is competing more directly with larger platforms like X. While X, owned by Elon Musk, recently expanded its messaging features with a separate XChat app, Bluesky is just beginning to roll out its own group-based communication tools. The timing highlights how both platforms are exploring different approaches to private social interaction.
Bluesky currently has about 44.8 million registered users, which is significantly smaller than X’s estimated 600 million monthly active users. Because of this gap, the company is focusing less on scale and more on features that make its platform feel different and more personal. Group chats are part of that strategy, helping it stand out by emphasizing smaller, interest-based interactions.
The new group chat system allows up to 50 people in a single conversation. While this is smaller than X’s limit of 1,000 participants, Bluesky says the feature is still in early development and could be expanded in the future as the system improves.
Users who create group chats will have full control over how they are managed. They can decide who joins, who can invite others, and whether the chat remains public or private. Invitations can also be shared using links that can be posted directly within Bluesky, making it easier to grow group discussions organically.
Participants also have privacy controls of their own. Users can choose who is allowed to invite them to group chats, with options including everyone, only people they follow, or no one at all. By default, the setting is limited to people they follow unless manually changed.
However, some features are still missing. Media sharing inside group chats is not yet available, as Bluesky says it still needs to build stronger safety and moderation systems before adding that capability.
Bluesky’s product lead, Alex Benzer, has also outlined a broader vision for the platform. He explained that Bluesky is moving away from being a single large public space and instead building smaller community spaces where users can engage more deeply with shared interests. He added that the goal is to build these systems on the platform’s underlying AT Protocol, allowing developers to contribute to its growth.
In his remarks, Benzer described the future direction clearly, saying, “Today, Bluesky is one big space. Communities will be smaller spaces inside that where you can go deeper and hang out with people who care about the same stuff,” and added, “On Bluesky, you’ll be able to create communities, join them, post in them, and get updates.”
Communities on Bluesky will also have dedicated handles that function like web links, such as community-name.bsky.social. These spaces can be public, private, or invite-only, similar to Facebook Groups or Reddit communities.
The timing of this push is notable because X recently shut down its Communities feature due to low usage and spam issues. Bluesky appears to be taking the opposite approach, aiming to attract users who want more control over their online spaces and more meaningful interactions.
Alongside group chats, the update also introduces a new way to share profiles using personalized QR codes, making it easier for users to connect both online and offline.
