Bluesky rolls out drafts to catch up with X and Threads

Social network Bluesky is rolling out a drafts feature, introducing a tool that has long been standard on competing platforms like X and Threads. The ability to save posts before publishing is widely seen as a baseline feature for modern social media services. While its primary competitors, X and Threads, have long supported the ability to write drafts, Bluesky’s lack of the feature has highlighted the functional gap between the newer platform and its established rivals.

The user experience for the new feature mirrors that of competing services. Users can access drafts on Bluesky by opening the new post flow and selecting the Drafts button located in the top-right corner of the interface. This addition addresses one of the platform’s most-requested features from its user base, allowing for a more flexible posting workflow.

The rollout of drafts coincides with Bluesky recently teasing its roadmap for the year ahead. The company plans to focus on improving its algorithmic Discover feed—which functions as a content recommendation system—alongside offering better recommendations on who to follow and making the application feel more real-time, among other updates. However, even as it plans these updates, the company has acknowledged that it still needs to get the basics right. Despite gaining a loyal user base, Bluesky continues to lag behind its rivals when it comes to other basic features, such as private accounts and support for longer videos.

Since its launch to the public in early 2024, Bluesky has scaled to over 42 million users, according to data sourced directly from the Bluesky API for developers. As the platform continues to expand its user base, the addition of drafts represents a step toward matching the core utility of older social networks. The company’s dual focus on basic feature parity and algorithmic recommendations highlights the balance it must strike as it matures.

Why it matters

By introducing drafts, Bluesky is addressing a critical gap in its basic feature set to better compete with X and Threads. While the platform plans to invest in algorithmic recommendations and real-time features, securing foundational tools is essential to retaining its growing user base.