On April 25, 2025, Bluesky, the social media platform touting itself as the decentralized future of online chatter, went completely offline, leaving users staring at spinning loading circles and blank feeds. The outage, which hit both the mobile app and desktop versions, sparked a flurry of frustration among its growing user base. For a platform built on the promise of dodging the pitfalls of centralized giants like the old Twitter, the irony was thicker than a newsroom’s coffee sludge.
The trouble kicked off around late afternoon, with users reporting they couldn’t load posts, send messages, or even log in. Bluesky’s official blog dropped a statement confirming the issue, pinning the blame on “major networking problems” tied to its Personal Data Server (PDS) instances. These servers, meant to be the backbone of its decentralized setup, are hosted by Bluesky itself, a detail that raised eyebrows among tech insiders. If your decentralized network hinges on one company’s infrastructure, is it really decentralized? The question hung in the air like cigarette smoke in a dive bar.
The outage stretched over an hour, with service starting to crawl back online by early evening. Bluesky’s team posted an update, saying they were “actively investigating” the root cause but offered no timeline for a full fix. Major news outlets, including tech-focused sites, reported the disruption, noting it affected users globally. The platform, which has been pitching itself as a freer, user-controlled alternative to mainstream social media, took a hit to its credibility. After all, nothing screams “reliable” like a network that vanishes mid-scroll.
Bluesky’s structure, at least on paper, is supposed to spread data across multiple servers to avoid exactly this kind of meltdown. Unlike traditional platforms where one company holds all the keys, Bluesky’s model lets users’ data live on independent servers—or so the pitch goes. But when those servers are still tethered to Bluesky’s own hosting, the whole operation can grind to a halt if the central hub coughs. And cough it did.
The company didn’t release specific numbers on affected users, but Bluesky’s user base, while smaller than its rivals, has been climbing steadily since its public launch. The platform’s appeal—open protocols, user control, and a vibe reminiscent of Twitter’s early days—has drawn in creators, journalists, and tech nerds. Yet, this wasn’t the first hiccup. Smaller outages have popped up before, though none as widespread as this one.
By nightfall, some users reported feeds trickling back, but the damage was done. Bluesky’s team promised further updates as they dug into the mess. No government reports or regulatory bodies weighed in, as the outage didn’t trigger any broader telecom or security concerns. It was, in the end, a tech company’s growing pains laid bare—a reminder that even the shiniest new systems can trip over their own wires.
The outage began on April 25, 2025, and lasted over an hour. Bluesky confirmed networking issues with its hosted PDS instances. Service partially resumed by evening, with investigations ongoing.