Bluesky finally added group chats on Thursday, giving users a way to talk privately in groups on the platform.
The feature lets you create a chat with multiple people, name the group, and share messages that only members can see. It's basic stuff that most social apps have had for years, but it's new for Bluesky.
Bluesky has been adding community-focused features to compete with X, which is owned by Elon Musk. X recently went the other direction, spinning out its messaging into a separate app called XChat.
XChat launched in May as a standalone messaging app, pulling conversations out of the main X feed. Bluesky is doing the opposite — keeping group chats inside its main app.
The group chat feature is rolling out now on Bluesky's mobile and web versions. Users will see a new chat icon where they can start or join group conversations.
Bluesky started as a Twitter alternative in 2019, backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. It grew fast after Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and changed the platform's rules. By late 2024, Bluesky had over 30 million users.
But the platform has been playing catch-up on basic features. It only added direct messages in 2023, and private group chats were a big missing piece. Now that gap is closed.
The timing matters because both platforms are fighting for the same users. X still has hundreds of millions of active users, but Bluesky has attracted people who left X over content moderation changes or Musk's leadership.
Bluesky's approach to moderation is different from X's. The platform uses a system called "composable moderation" that lets users choose their own moderation filters. Group chats add another layer of privacy for people who want to talk without public feed noise.
For now, group chats are basic. There's no voice or video calling, no message reactions beyond likes, and no end-to-end encryption. Bluesky said it plans to add more features over time.
The launch is part of a bigger push by Bluesky to build community tools. The company recently added quote posts, video support, and better search. Group chats are the latest step toward making the platform feel complete.
X isn't standing still either. XChat has features like voice calls, video calls, and encrypted messaging. But it's a separate app that users have to download, which adds friction.
Bluesky's bet is that keeping everything in one app will be more convenient for most people. Whether that's enough to pull users away from X's bigger network isn't clear yet.
For now, Bluesky users can finally do what they've been asking for: chat in groups without leaving the app.