By Sarah Parvini | The Associated Press

Social media site Bluesky gained 1 million new users in the week since the US election as some X users look for an alternative platform to post their thoughts and interact with others online.

Bluesky said Wednesday that its total number of users had grown to 15 million, up from about 13 million at the end of October.

Backed by former Twitter CEO Jack DorseyBluesky was an invitation-only space until it opened to the public in February. That invite-only period gave the site time to build moderation tools and other features. The platform resembles Elon Musk’s X, with a “discovery” feed as well as a timeline for the accounts users follow. Users can send direct messages and pin posts, as well as find “starter packs” that provide a curated list of people and personalized streams to follow.

The post-election surge in users isn’t the first time Bluesky has benefited from people leaving X. Bluesky gained 2.6 million users in the week after X was banned in Brazil in August — 85% of them from Brazil, the company said. About 500,000 new users signed up in the space of one day last month when X reported that blocked accounts could see a user’s public posts.

Despite Bluesky’s rise, X posted last week that it had “dominated the global conversation regarding the US election” and set new records. The platform saw a 15.5 percent increase in new user signups on Election Day, X said, with a record 942 million posts worldwide. Representatives for Bluesky and X did not respond to requests for comment.

Bluesky has referenced his competitive relationship with X through tongue-in-cheek comments, including an Election Day post about X referencing Musk on the polls coming in with President-elect Donald Trump.

“I can guarantee that no member of the Bluesky team will sit down with a presidential candidate tonight and give them direct access to control what you see online,” Bluesky said.