After seeing record traffic, Bluesky adds rate limits to improve network stability
Twitter/X rival Bluesky announced it will impose rate limits to improve its network stability and security, but assured users their posting experience would not be impacted. The move comes shortly after Bluesky saw a record high in traffic, thanks to X owner Elon Musk’s announcement that the company formerly known as Twitter would be doing away with the “block” function, which sent users once again looking for a Twitter alternative.
Shortly after Musk’s proclamation, Bluesky buckled under the load of new traffic on August 18. Users saw issues with slow load times and the occasional error message when trying to view posts. Images and graphics were also slow to load. The issues were resolved later that day and Bluesky welcomed the new users by announcing it had set a new traffic record.
“Early today, we experienced degraded performance on our server, causing the app to be slow for users, but this is now resolved,” the post also informed users.
With stability and performance now top of mind, the company says it will introduce some application rate limits for specific actions — like resetting your password or updating your user handle.
“This update should *not* affect your experience on the service,” the company explained in a post on Bluesky.
In other words, these are standard limitations on usage — not bizarre limitations like Twitter/X’s new rate limits, imposed by Musk, which actually prevented users from viewing beyond a certain number of posts.
In addition to this more developer-focused news, Bluesky also announced the release of version 1.46. This version of the social app includes shortened links, the ability to report lists and feeds to moderators, visual improvements to link cards, the removal of adult content labels on posts without images, and various other fixes, including the removal of muted and blocked users from the suggested follows lists and more.
The new release is rolling out now to iOS and web with Android to swiftly follow.
