Bluesky Launches Group Chats and Announces Reddit-Style Communities Feature
Bluesky has launched group chats supporting up to 50 members and announced plans to introduce Reddit-style community spaces later in 2026. The moves represent a strategic shift toward community-focused features as the platform's growth has slowed, with 44.8 million registered users compared to X's 600 million monthly active users. The updates signal Bluesky's attempt to differentiate itself from larger competitors by offering more structured, interest-based social experiences on its open AT Protocol.
Bluesky has rolled out group chat functionality in app version v1.124, allowing up to 50 users to communicate privately, with creators able to manage membership and generate shareable invite links. Chat participants can control who may invite them — everyone, only people they follow, or no one — with the default set to followers only. Media sharing in group chats is not yet supported, pending additional safety and moderation infrastructure. Separately, Bluesky's head of product Alex Benzer announced that Reddit-style 'communities' are coming later this year, offering dedicated spaces where users can create or join topic-focused groups, each with its own handle and custom landing page. Community owners will be able to build custom experiences using AT Protocol tools, and posts from communities will surface in users' Discover feeds or a dedicated feed. The announcements come as X shut down its own Communities feature in April due to low usage and spam, and as Meta's Threads launched a similar communities feature in late 2025. The update also includes a new QR code profile-sharing feature.
What's missing
It is unclear what moderation tools or policies will govern communities once launched, or how Bluesky plans to address spam — a problem that contributed to X shutting down its own Communities feature.
How coverage differed
Engadget focused primarily on the upcoming communities feature and its similarities to Reddit, while TechCrunch gave more weight to the group chats launch and framed both developments within the broader context of Bluesky's slowing growth and competitive pressures from X and Meta.
What different sources said
- TechCrunchCenter
Bluesky launches group chats, as company shifts focus to community features
- EngadgetCenter
Bluesky will launch Reddit-style communities this year
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