Mark Zuckerberg teases default Threads feeds as X users flock to rival Bluesky

• Threads will let users choose a default feed, Mark Zuckerberg has said.
• Meta's move to compete with Bluesky's growth follows a wave of users leaving Elon Musk's X.
• With its recent rapid growth, Bluesky faces fresh challenges, including content moderation.

Threads is stepping up its game by giving users the power to pick their default feed as it battles to keep pace with Bluesky's explosive growth.

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said in a Threads post on Monday that it is "testing the option" for users to decide if they want a "For You," "Following," or a customized feed. He added, "Interested to see how and if people use this."

The move comes as the Meta-owned platform seeks to capitalize on a wave of users leaving X and a surge in interest at rival social network Bluesky, which is winning over millions of new users.

Bluesky says it now has more than 22.6 million users, up from 13 million in October. Droves of X users recently left the platform due to concerns over hate speech and misinformation.

Bluesky is encountering a fresh set of challenges amid its growth boom. Its chief operating officer, Rose Wang, told Business Insider last week that its 20-person team is in "firefighting mode" as its user growth has surpassed its own projections. It's even had to expedite getting additional server capacity at its data centers as it anticipates further growth.

It is also seeing an "uptick in harmful content" with the surge in users, the company said Monday in a post. To tackle this, it's making some short-term decisions to recall posts, which has resulted in "over-enforcement and temporary suspensions for multiple users."

According to Platformer's Casey Newton, Bluesky had eight confirmed cases of child sexual abuse material on Monday, compared with just two cases throughout 2023. Aaron Rodericks, Bluesky's head of trust and safety, told Platformer that it is increasing the number of its content moderators by fourfold to 100.

Threads has recently made a series of updates to its platform, which seems to be driven by heightened competition from Bluesky. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said last week that Instagram will prioritize content from people users follow, which in turn means they will see less recommended content.

Mosseri also said it's testing a few "long-overdue improvements," including the ability for users to search for posts from a specific date or from a particular account. It's also going to give AI-generated summaries of trending topics in its "Trending Now" feed.

Meta didn't immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours.