Pakistani authorities appear to have blocked access to the social media platform Bluesky as its popularity surges worldwide.

Data from the internet watchdog NetBlocks confirmed reports earlier this week that users in Pakistan couldn’t access the service without using a virtual private network (VPN). 

Pakistan has increasingly restricted social media over the past year, sometimes publicly announcing the decisions. Government agencies, including the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), have not yet officially commented on Bluesky. 

In February, authorities limited access to X (formerly Twitter) amid “escalating unrest and protests over allegations of election fraud.” The country has also experienced months of social media shutdowns and internet disruptions tied to its general election.

In November, Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Ideology, a state agency responsible for ensuring laws align with Islamic principles, declared the use of VPNs against Islamic law and advised the government to ban the technology.

For many local users, Bluesky has emerged as a convenient alternative to the recently banned X and other platforms closely monitored by the government. While there’s no official data on how many Pakistanis have joined Bluesky since X was banned, local users and media have praised the app as a “digital safe haven” and a great choice for “freedom-seekers.”

The first complaints about difficulties accessing Bluesky surfaced on Tuesday.

“I’m genuinely pissed off now. I just used that app for looking at art. Now it’s unusable without VPN, and using VPN makes the images load so slowly,” one user wrote on Reddit.

According to local free speech advocate Usama Khilji, Pakistan “is likely the first country to block access to Bluesky.” Bluesky has not responded to requests for comment about the alleged restrictions at the time of writing.

Bluesky has been gaining popularity worldwide, surpassing 20 million users this week. This surge in new subscribers likely followed a wave of departures from the Elon Musk-owned X after President-elect Donald Trump’s victory. As of Thursday, Bluesky was the top free app on Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store.

Bluesky’s user base is still much smaller than X or another alternative platform, Threads, owned by the U.S.-based company Meta. X and Threads each have several hundred million active monthly users. 

The rise in popularity has also brought new risks for Bluesky, and its safety team has noted increased spam, trolling and scam activity. 

“We appreciate your patience as we dial our moderation team up to max capacity and bring on new team members to support this load. Your safety is our highest priority, and we’re glad to welcome you to Bluesky!” the platform’s safety team said in a statement.