Screenshots of the feature, which appears to be still in development, surfaced on Threads.

Meta’s X-challenger Threads is reportedly planning to implement its own version of Bluesky’s ‘Starter Packs’.

These ‘Starter Packages’ are specific listings created by platform users who recommend other users on the app.

Engineer Chris Messina posted a screenshot showing the purported new feature to Threads, along with the caption: “This is what a competitor to Threads’ Bluesky Starter Packs looks like.”

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, which owns Threads, recently posted on the site that it is currently testing the option to allow users to select any feed – a move that appears to mirror Bluesky’s own Custom Feeds feature .

Bluesky Threads took aim in a post on the platform: “If this app is going to keep copying our features, you might as well just join Bluesky.”

After Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter (now X), and subsequent controversies over the site’s reported failures to stop disinformation and the spread of bot accounts, many people are looking for a new short-form app to join.

Threads, which is linked to Instagram, launched last year as a space for users to share “real-time updates and public conversations”. A year later it reached 175m monthly active users. As of this month, it has approximately 275m monthly active users.

Bluesky, a project originally funded by Twitter that was announced in 2019, was developed with the aim of “creating an open and decentralized standard for social media”. It started as an invite-only app and had over 3m sign-ups before going public. The competitor app was then published in February this year.

Its user base has since grown, reaching 15m users earlier this month, with 1m signing up in a single day following Donald Trump’s recent election victory. According to its user count, the platform now has more than 23m users.

Earlier this month, market intelligence firm SimilarWeb released a report arguing that if Bluesky continues its current growth trajectory, it could catch up with Threads in the number of daily active users. However, the head of Instagram Adam Mosseri questioned the veracity of the data. TechCrunch showed a counter that finds Threads’ daily active user count is currently 10 times that of Bluesky.

Open source champion Kelsey Hightower, known for his work with Kubernetes and Google, spoke to SiliconRepublic.com about Bluesky’s promise as a decentralized platform. He said we have been given a new opportunity to get social media right but he said we all have a responsibility to make sure this happens.

Earlier this week, the European Commission said Bluesky is in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to provide important data about the platform. Specifically, the Commission said there is no page on the site listing “how many users they have in the EU and where they are legally based”, which is a requirement of the DSA. However, it is too small a platform for the Commission to regulate.

Bluesky’s Emily Liu confirmed to The Verge that the platform is “actively working” with its lawyers to ensure compliance with the DSA.

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