The social network Bluesky has announced a major overhaul of its media content processing system. The platform has significantly expanded its video limits, speeding up uploads and increasing the maximum file size. According to the developers, the changes are designed to improve the user experience, attract new creators, and ultimately grow the service's overall audience, which has shown a steady decline in recent months.
New Limits: 10 Minutes and 300 MB
The key change concerns video length. Just a year ago, the platform allowed videos up to 3 minutes long, and before that only up to 60 seconds, but now users can upload videos up to 10 minutes in length. At the same time, the maximum file size has been increased to 300 MB. As noted by Bluesky, these parameters make the platform significantly more attractive to creators working with long-form video content, placing it on par with market leaders.
Upload Speed and the Decentralized Ecosystem
Beyond the higher limits, the developers have optimized the upload process itself: according to their data, videos are now added to the platform 2–3 times faster. Crucially, Bluesky is built on the decentralized AT Protocol network. Thanks to this, the updated parameters automatically became available to other applications operating within the same network — specifically Bluescreen, Reelo, and Skylight. Thus, a single protocol-level update effectively raised the standards for an entire ecosystem of client applications.
Competitive Context: TikTok, Threads, and X
The new 10-minute limit allows for a direct comparison between Bluesky and TikTok, which has long established itself in the short- and mid-length video segment. By contrast, Meta's Threads app allows uploads of videos only up to 5 minutes long. On X, free accounts face a 140-second limit, while paid subscribers can post multi-hour videos up to 16 GB in size. It is precisely this capability for X's paid users that, according to sources, led to a massive illegal leak of full-length films: the platform somehow ended up with leaked copies of The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, as well as an animated film about Aang. By expanding its limits, Bluesky is betting on legitimate creator content rather than pirated uploads.
An Attempt to Curb Audience Outflow
For Bluesky itself, expanding video capabilities is not just a product improvement but a strategic response to negative traffic trends. According to data from analytics firm Similarweb, as of July 2026 the platform's number of active users had fallen by 25 percent year over year. Against this backdrop, the video module update looks like an attempt to reverse the trend: make the platform more useful for content creators, retain existing authors, and win back the interest of an audience that has migrated to competitors with more flexible media capabilities.
