X Starterpacks Bluesky Copy 2026: The Battle for Social Curation
X is copying Bluesky’s Starter Packs with its own internally curated 'Starterpacks' in 2026. Discover how Elon Musk's platform plans to revivify onboarding.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but in the social media war, it's just another strategic move. X (formerly Twitter) is officially taking a page out of Bluesky's playbook by introducing its own version of curated user lists. As Bluesky's 'Starter Packs' gain traction, Elon Musk's platform is launching a nearly identical feature—even keeping the name.
X Starterpacks Bluesky Copy 2026 Details
On January 21, 2026, Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, announced that the app will soon roll out 'Starterpacks.' The feature aims to help new and existing users find accounts across categories like Technology, Gaming, and Finance. While the concept is borrowed from Bluesky, the execution differs significantly in terms of curation source.
Unlike Bluesky, where any user can create and share a pack, X has curated these lists internally. Bier explained that the company spent months scouring internal data to find the 'top posters' in every niche and country. This top-down approach ensures that X maintains control over which voices are amplified during the onboarding process.
| Feature | X Starterpacks | Bluesky Starter Packs |
|---|---|---|
| Curation Source | Internal Data & Editors | Individual Users |
| Control | Centralized by Platform | Decentralized/Community |
| Availability | Rolling out in coming weeks | Currently Active |
A Return to Twitter's Early Roots
Suggested user lists aren't exactly a new invention for X. In the early 2010s, Twitter used editorial lists to boost discovery, though it eventually pivoted to algorithms due to fairness concerns. Today, with Threads and Mastodon also testing similar curation tools, the industry is circling back to manual discovery to fix the 'empty feed' problem for new users.
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