Decentralised Twitter alternative Bluesky arrives on Android

Any Android users still on the lookout for a viable Twitter alternative should note that Bluesky is now available on the Google Play Store, complete with major backing and a distinctly un-Musky set-up.

Having initially landed on iOS in private beta at the end of February, Bluesky now has its app on Android, though it remains a case of joining a waiting list or securing an invite from an existing user.

The service is perhaps most notable for being a Twitter-like social network with the backing of a certain Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter itself. Indeed, it started life as an internal Twitter project.

While the basic user experience is very Twitter-esque, with the ability to share brief posts and pictures, as well as comment and like, it’s the underlying structure of Bluesky that stands out. It’s a so-called “federated social network”, which means that it’s not run from a central location. Rather, multiple service providers can communicate with one another, a bit like email.

It means that you have far more ownership of your Bluesky account, rather than a monolithic company and its potentially unhinged CEO essentially holding the keys to your online identity.

Bluesky’s decentralised system, built on what it calls the Authenticated Transfer Protocol, also allows for a far greater degree of fine-tuning on the user’s part. If you don’t like the kind of posts that are being surfaced by the service’s algorithms, you can adjust them.

Indeed, it’s that aforementioned AT Protocol (as it’s often referred to) that’s the real product here. Bluesky is just the browser that sits on top, and the idea is that you’ll be able to switch to another if you so wish.