News in Short

• Bluesky has introduced group chats for up to 50 participants.
• The feature arrives as Bluesky shifts focus toward community-based interactions.
• Users can control who invites them to chats and share invite links publicly.
• The company is also developing dedicated community spaces built on the AT Protocol.

Bluesky has launched group chats, marking a major step in its effort to build stronger communities on the platform. The new feature allows users to create private group conversations with up to 50 participants. The update arrives as Bluesky looks beyond public posting and invests more heavily in community-driven social networking.

The latest update, available in version 1.124, introduces a feature many users have been requesting. While larger rivals like X already support large-scale group messaging, Bluesky is positioning its new chat tools as part of a broader vision centered on smaller, more engaged communities.

What Are Group Chats?

The new group chats on the social media platform allow users to create private spaces for discussions with friends, creators, and communities. Chat creators can decide who joins and who participates in conversations.

Users can generate invite links and share them across the web, including inside Bluesky posts. Meanwhile, participants can choose who can invite them into group chats. Options include everyone, only people they follow, or nobody.

By default, Bluesky will allow invitations only from accounts a user follows. However, users can modify those settings based on their preferences.

At launch, media sharing is not available inside group chats. Bluesky says additional safety and moderation systems are required before that feature can be introduced.

Why Is Bluesky Focusing on Communities?

The Bluesky update reflects a larger shift in strategy. Instead of focusing only on public conversations and audience growth, the company wants users to spend more time in smaller interest-based spaces.

According to Bluesky’s product leadership, future community features will allow users to create, join, and participate in dedicated groups built around shared interests.

These communities will have unique handles and web addresses. They can also be configured as public, invite-only, or private spaces. The goal is to give users more control over how they interact online.

How Does This Compare With X?

The timing is notable. Earlier this year, X announced plans to shut down its Communities feature after facing challenges related to spam and low engagement.

Now, Bluesky appears to be moving in the opposite direction. The company is building tools that encourage smaller conversations and stronger group interactions.

Although Bluesky’s group chats currently support only 50 members compared to X’s much larger limits, the company says those limits could increase in the future.

What’s Next?

Beyond group chats, Bluesky has also introduced profile-sharing QR codes to simplify account discovery. However, the bigger story is the platform’s growing focus on communities.

With nearly 45 million registered users, Bluesky is exploring ways to differentiate itself from larger social networks. The launch of Bluesky group chats is the first visible step in that strategy, and more community-focused features are expected in the months ahead.