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With everything going on lately, we’re seeing a lot of users leaving Twitter (sorry, X) and taking up social media elsewhere. Bluesky is currently one of the main beneficiaries of this user migration, and if you’re considering making the same switch, we have a complete guide to the process here.
Download your Twitter archive
If you’re attached to the messages you’ve already sent out into the world on Twitter (or X), you can save a record of them by downloading your archive, going back to when you first started on the platform. Log in Tweeting on the internetand click More (the three dots) then Settings & privacy > Your account > Download an archive of your data.
Click Request archiveand the process is started. You will see a message explaining that it may take up to 48 hours for your archive to be ready, depending on how busy you have been on the platform. When your archive is ready, you will receive a notification that you can download it.
Follow the download link and you’ll get a zip archive of all your messages, along with other information: the devices you’ve used, the interests you’ve registered on Twitter, and even your advertising profile data.
Set up your Bluesky account
If you don’t have Bluesky installed yet, the registration process won’t take long. Make sure you have a profile photo ready (or you can just borrow it from your Twitter profile for consistency). Go to the Bluesky siteClick Sign In and follow the on-screen instructions.
You will need to provide an email address and your date of birth, and you will also need to choose a username. Just like on Twitter, this is used to identify you across the platform. You can add a profile photo and tell Bluesky about your interests (which will be used to recommend accounts to follow).
Once your account has been created, click on your account photo (top left). Edit profile. You can add a cover photo at the top of your profile page and fill out a short bio to tell people about yourself. To send other people a link to your new profile, click on the three dots Part.
Find your Twitter followers and favorites on Bluesky
You may want to start over with Bluesky, but there are tools available if you want to take some of your old Twitter (X) life with you. For messages, Porto is an extension for Chrome and Edge that copies everything in a few clicks: all you have to do is provide the details of the two accounts, and your messages will be moved (excluding replies, quoted tweets and retweets, because they are linked to other people’s posts).
When it comes to finding all the people you followed on Twitter, give Sky Follower Bridge an attempt. The extension is available for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox, and you’ll need to launch it with the list of people you follow on Twitter open in your browser. Give the extension your Bluesky credentials and it will find anyone who has made the switch.
Once the list of results appears on the screen, it is up to you who you want to follow again. Click the Follow All button if you want to add everyone at once. The scanning and matching process can take some time, especially if you follow a lot of people, but it’s worth it to make sure you don’t leave anyone behind.
We continue on Twitter and Bluesky
You can leave your Twitter account alone – and you may want to if you want to follow certain accounts that aren’t on Bluesky. Keeping your account also prevents someone from taking over your username (and perhaps pretending to be you). You should log into your account regularly so that your account is not considered inactive.
If you decide you want to delete your account, go to Tweeting on the internet click More (the three dots) then Settings and privacy > Your account > Deactivate your account. Deactivating your account hides your profile and tweets for 30 days. If you log into your account during that time, it will be reactivated. If you don’t, your account will be permanently deleted and you can use your username for free.
You’re then ready to start your Bluesky life: you’ll probably want to download the official app Android or iOSas well as access via the internet. There are many features available that you know from Twitter (X), including the ability to create lists of users, support for direct messaging, and control over who can see your messages.
There are also some Bluesky extras, including feeds (tracked tags) and starter packs (collections from other Bluesky accounts that you can share). The good news is that everything is clearly laid out and easy to navigate, so it won’t take long to get the hang of everything Bluesky has to offer.