Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #273) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Old hang-ups
NYT Strands today (game #273) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
SEVERE
CHIT
CHOIR
GREED
LION
CARD
NYT Strands today (game #273) - hint #3 - spangram
What is a hint for today's spangram?
• Pick up if you're there
NYT Strands today (game #273) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First: right, 4th row
Last: left, 3rd row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #273) - the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today's Strands, game #273, are…
RECEIVER
SWITCH
DIAL
CRADLE
HANDSET
RINGER
SPANGRAM: ROTARYPHONE
My rating: Moderate
My score: Perfect
This was another nice Strands puzzle, with a straightforward theme in some ways, but more interesting than some due to both the nostalgia factor and the fact that its era made it harder.
We're talking here about the ROTARYPHONE, a device that those under about 30 will probably only know from TV shows such as Stranger Things. It really does seem incredible that as recently as the 1990s – or certainly the '80s – these were ubiquitous but now they're hardly seen at all. Then again, it seems equally unlikely that people wouldn't be able to contact you on the go, or that only one member of a household could have a telephone conversation at once.
The theme clue here was fairly cryptic, but I spotted RECEIVER by accident and that gave me the concept right away. After that it was a question of raiding my childhood memories of life in a world where you actually had to remember people's phone number…
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, 30 November, game #272)
WIND
LIFE
COME
EASY
REAL
BLOWS
FANTASY
SPANGRAM: BOHEMIANRHAPSODY
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.
What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?
• M
• S
• C
• T
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #1041) - the answers
(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)
The answers to today's Quordle, game #1041, are…
MAMMA
SNUCK
CRYPT
TAROT
MAMMA must be one of the worst possible answers to turn up in Quordle (or Wordle). There are very few five-letter words that contain only two letters, but this is one and it nearly tripped me up today. I very much doubt I'm the only one.
Given that TAROT and CRYPT are also challenging answers for different reasons – repeated T in the first, no vowels in the second – this has the potential to be a very tough game of Quordle indeed. I solved it thanks to some luck with my start words, but it required more thought than is often the case.
Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.
What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?
• J
• D
• D
• G
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #1040) - the answers
(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)
The answers to today's Quordle, game #1040, are…
JOIST
DROOL
DUSKY
GLIDE
Not too long ago we had FOIST as an answer in Quordle and it nearly cost me my streak (which at that stage was a non-streak anyway, as I'd failed the day before). Today I was left with the same -OIST challenge, and I'd like to report that I played much more sensibly. Unfortunately, I can't do that – because instead of attempting to narrow down the options from JOIST, FOIST and MOIST (the three left to me at that point) I gambled and played JOIST. I got lucky, but it could easily have been different. Don't do what I do!
JOIST aside there are no major problems, although DROOL – which could also have been DROLL – might catch out a few people. Hopefully you weren't among them.
Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #271) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Give me a break
NYT Strands today (game #271) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
DOLL
WIND
RATE
IRATE
NODE
WANT
NYT Strands today (game #271) - hint #3 - spangram
What is a hint for today's spangram?
• Busy doing nothing
NYT Strands today (game #271) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First: top, 3rd column
Last: bottom, 3rd column
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #271) - the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today's Strands, game #271, are…
CHILL
RELAX
UNWIND
PAUSE
LOAF
LOUNGE
LUXURIATE
SPANGRAM: DOWNTIME
My rating: Moderate
My score: 1 hint
This was a harder Strands puzzle than many, and for that I give it praise. Nobody wants a game that's so easy it becomes formulaic, so kudos to the NYT team for this one, which needed a bit more thought than the type that merely involve naming objects in a particular group.
Sure, the theme here – words for DOWNTIME – is no more complex than some of the others, but unless you're a walking thesaurus you'll have needed to get that old gray matter working in order to find them all. As it happens, I needed a hint halfway through; I simply ran out of synonyms after CHILL, RELAX, UNWIND and PAUSE. Once I had the spangram things got a lot easier, as is usually the case, and I finished a few minutes later so I could go and LUXURIATE or LOAF elsewhere…
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Thursday, 28 November, game #270)
TURKEY
POTATOES
GRAVY
CRANBERRIES
ROLLS
YAMS
SPANGRAM: LETSFEAST
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.
What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?
• G
• W
• N
• D
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #1039) - the answers
(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)
The answers to today's Quordle, game #1039, are…
GRADE
WORRY
NOISE
DAISY
This is about as straightforward as Quordle ever gets. All four words are well known, all the letters are common, there's only one repeat to worry about, and the whole thing only took me about two minutes to solve. I don't know how Merriam-Webster decides which words are answers each day – it's possible they're set automatically and have been in place, unchanged, since the game launched. Or maybe they're curated in some way. But what is clear is that some days are far easier than others, and today's is one of the simplest in a while.
Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #269) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Come fly with me
NYT Strands today (game #269) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
FRONT
SHUT
WEST
PILE
SPILL
GRIND
NYT Strands today (game #269) - hint #3 - spangram
What is a hint for today's spangram?
• Have wings, will travel
NYT Strands today (game #269) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First: bottom, 3rd column
Last: top, 4th column
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #269) - the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today's Strands, game #269, are…
FRONTIER
UNITED
VIRGIN
DELTA
SPIRIT
SOUTHWEST
SPANGRAM: AIRLINES
My rating: Easy
My score: Perfect
As with yesterday's game (see below for the answers if you missed them), this is a Strands puzzle that is perfectly acceptable but that which wasn't really one for me. I don't fly, generally, and I'm not based in the US – so the likes of UNITED, DELTA, SPIRIT and FRONTIER did not spring readily to mind. I didn't need a hint to get started, however, because I found FRONTIER by accident and once I combined that with the theme clue of 'Come fly with me' I had enough knowledge to know what was needed.
The trouble was, though I have heard of all of the AIRLINES included here, I couldn't think of them, so had to do a combination of word-searching and letter-pattern-searching until I got them all. So not the most fun, but I'm not blaming the NYT – this was just not the day for me.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, 26 November, game #268)
TOTE
BARREL
MESSENGER
BUCKET
DUFFEL
CROSSBODY
SPANGRAM: HANDBAGS
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
You can see recaps for yourself and your favorite communities
Tap on the banana icon in the app to see them
As the year draws to a close, we don't just have the holiday season and Black Friday deals to get excited about. No, we can also reminisce on how we’ve spent 2024 with the help of the likes of Spotify Wrapped, YouTube Recap, and Reddit Recap.
The latter of those has just been released so you can see how many banana lengths you’ve scrolled while browsing Reddit when it isn't down – I’ve scrolled through 90,567 apparently – and see the posts and communities you engaged the most with. At the very end you’ll even get a little Reddit persona card that describes your 2024 experience – my visits to Marvel Snap, Balatro, and Magic The Gathering subreddits has seen me dubbed a ‘Game Knight’.
You can also find the stats for the communities you follow to look back on the posts and comments that garnered the most attention from members of the subreddit.
(Image credit: Reddit)
Of all the end of the year recaps, Reddit's is one of my favorites thanks to this huge community aspect.
Whether it’s looking back on one of my community’s biggest posts of the year – like reliving the news MatPat was retiring in r/GameTheorists – or seeing the biggest stories from a subreddit I frequent but haven’t joined – like the Moo Deng appreciation post on r/MadeMeSmile – I love getting to find the flavor of 2024 for my niche of the internet.
How to find your Reddit Recap
Accessing your Recap is easy. Simply open the Reddit app and tap on the pixelated banana icon next to your profile picture. This will take you to the Reddit Recap page.
At the top of this menu is your own personalized recap, while community recaps for the groups you’re part of – and others that are popular – will appear below. To view any of them just tap on one, and when you’re ready to view a different recap tap the X icon in the left corner, or tap it on the main recap page to return to Reddit proper.
Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #268) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Open-and-shut case
NYT Strands today (game #268) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
BEAR
SEAL
REAR
HALF
BOSS
BAKE
NYT Strands today (game #268) - hint #3 - spangram
What is a hint for today's spangram?
• On-the-go storage
NYT Strands today (game #268) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First: left, 5th row
Last: right, 3rd row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #268) - the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today's Strands, game #268, are…
TOTE
BARREL
MESSENGER
BUCKET
DUFFEL
CROSSBODY
SPANGRAM: HANDBAGS
My rating: Moderate
My score: 2 hints
Full disclosure: I am not an expert in HANDBAGS and struggled to solve today's game, let alone write about it. So don't expect too much in the way of entertaining or enlightening insight here (not that you necessarily get that on any day).
So yes, HANDBAGS. Those things you carry stuff around in. Apparently BARREL and BUCKET and DUFFEL and CROSSBODY are all examples, but I didn't know that until now. TOTE and MESSENGER too, but I thought of them more as bags in general, rather than handbags. I accept that I was wrong about this. I solved it by using two hints, then looking for random words, rather than knowing they might be answers. It took a while and was tedious and I'm glad the whole ordeal is over now. If, however, you do know about handbags then I suspect it was a lot more fun. This is all very much my failing, rather than the game's (on this occasion).
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Monday, 25 November, game #267)
DATE
MONTH
HOLIDAY
YEAR
EVENT
WEEK
APPOINTMENT
SPANGRAM: CALENDAR
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
Google Tasks is now part of Google Calendar on Android
It follows the web apps merging last year
Google Tasks may eventually be retired as a standalone app
Google has certainly never been afraid of killing off apps and products it's not that interested in any more (see Killed by Google for details), and it appears that Google Tasks could be the next app on the chopping block.
The Google Tasks app is now available inside Google Calendar for Android, Google has announced (via 9to5Google). Google is positioning this as a benefit – but are we wrong to be a little worried about the future of the standalone Google Tasks app?
Perhaps not, given Google's history with merging and dropping products, and the way that Google Tasks has been slowly finding its way into other apps – not just Google Calendar, but also Gmail and the Google Assistant.
The Android update follows the addition of Google Tasks to Google Calendar on the web, which happened last year. "This update makes it easier for users to stay on top of and organize their tasks, especially while on the go," Google says.
The future of Google Tasks
Google has killed off a lot of projects, including Google Stadia(Image credit: Colleen Michaels)
There's no indication that Google Tasks is going to be killed off in the very near future, and we're doing a little bit of reading between the lines here. It's still available for Android and iOS, in addition to being available on the web.
However, as noted above, the old Google Tasks website portal now takes you to Google Calendar instead. There's a toggle switch up in the top-right corner that lets you switch between seeing your schedule and seeing your to-do lists.
It makes sense for your tasks to be inside your calendar – most of them will probably have a due date, after all – but it would be a shame if Google were to get rid of the separate Google Tasks app entirely. Sometimes less is more, and part of the appeal of Google Tasks is its simple, uncluttered interface.
We'll have to wait and see what Google's next move is, but we hope Google Tasks sticks around for many years to come. It does at least seem to still have more life in it as an independent app than Google Fit does.
Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.
What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?
• N
• S
• S
• D
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #1036) - the answers
(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)
The answers to today's Quordle, game #1036, are…
NUDGE
SNOOP
SHACK
DRYLY
DRYLY is the kind of word that crops up occasionally in Quordle or Wordle with the potential to cause all kinds of trouble, due to the fact that it contains no vowels. Or does it? Debate rages (in some, admittedly niche, circles) as to whether Y counts as a vowel or not. The answer is that it sometimes does and it sometimes doesn't. Here, it most definitely does, standing in for the 'I' sound in the middle and the 'E' sound at the end. However, I don't count Y as a vowel in my Quordle hints, because it would be far too confusing to do so.
DRYLY aside, today's game is not too difficult, but I did run it close having guessed SPOON when the answer was SNOOP. That aside, it was pretty approachable as Quordle goes.
Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #267) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Plan on it
NYT Strands today (game #267) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
RATE
HEAD
LANE
NEVER
MINE
NINE
NYT Strands today (game #267) - hint #3 - spangram
What is a hint for today's spangram?
• Daily reminder
NYT Strands today (game #267) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First: Bottom, 4th column
Last: Top, 3rd column
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #267) - the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today's Strands, game #267, are…
DATE
MONTH
HOLIDAY
YEAR
EVENT
WEEK
APPOINTMENT
SPANGRAM: CALENDAR
My rating: Easy
My score: Perfect
Here's a return to more familiar Strands fare after yesterday's rather more difficult puzzle. The theme here is CALENDAR, something without which I would be absolutely lost given my terrible memory.
Fortunately, I found it easier to find the likes of DATE, MONTH, EVENT and HOLIDAY than I do to remember my nephew's birthday, and only the lengthy APPOINTMENT caused me any trouble.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Sunday, 24 November, game #266)
DEVIL
SPOON
DIPPER
WOMEN
RASCALS
FOOT
LEAGUE
ROCK
SPANGRAM: LITTLE
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
NYT Strands today (game #266) - hint #1 - today's theme
What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Start small
NYT Strands today (game #266) - hint #2 - clue words
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
ROUGE
ROGUE
CREW
RIDE
PIPER
DIRE
NYT Strands today (game #266) - hint #3 - spangram
What is a hint for today's spangram?
• No big deal
NYT Strands today (game #266) - hint #4 - spangram position
What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?
First: right, 4th row
Last: left, 4th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
NYT Strands today (game #266) - the answers
(Image credit: New York Times)
The answers to today's Strands, game #266, are…
DEVIL
SPOON
DIPPER
WOMEN
RASCALS
FOOT
LEAGUE
ROCK
SPANGRAM: LITTLE
My rating: Hard
My score: Perfect
Now, this is more like it! This is absolutely the hardest Strands puzzle we've had for weeks, in large part because the concept is much more abstract than some of the recent list-items-in-a-specific-category games.
Instead, this is akin to the 'Blank word' groups you regularly get in Connections, with all of these being words that can go after LITTLE: LEAGUE, RASCALS, ROCK, DEVIL, WOMEN and so on. The only ones I don't understand are SPOON and FOOT, but I presume they have some relevance for others and that's just a lack of general knowledge on my part shining through.
Anyway, I solved it in the end, but had to think about it for a while, and didn't really get what the concept was until about halfway through; I kept finding words based on nothing more than looking for letters that often went together, then using the limited options in some corners of the board to get more. It was only when I got RASCALS that it became clear, which led me to the spangram and ultimately success. Good work, NYT.
Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, 23 November, game #265)
BANG
HONK
SIZZLE
CRASH
CRUNCH
JINGLE
KAPOW
SPANGRAM: SOUNDEFFECTS
What is NYT Strands?
Strands is the NYT's new word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now out of beta so is a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.
In the wake of the US election, millions of users have been joining Bluesky every day. A decentralized rival to X (formerly Twitter), the platform now has more than 20 million users. According to data from Similarweb, daily usage grew by more than 500% after the election.
In a recent interview with NPR, Bluesky CEO Jay Graber said the network had been “growing by about a million users a day”. That surge can be attributed in large part to the dissatisfaction of countless X (formerly Twitter) users.
While it still has a way to go to compete with the 275 million active monthly users on Threads, Bluesky has won big off the back of the US presidential election.
That being said, not everyone has heard of Bluesky. If the name's new to you, we’ve pulled together all the answers here – including what makes Bluesky different and how you can switch over from X.
What is Bluesky?
Bluesky is a social media platform which began life as Twitter project, created when Jack Dorsey was CEO in 2019. It then became a separate company in 2021. Bluesky’s majority owner is now CEO, Jay Graber.
Bluesky’s main differentiator is that it’s open and decentralized. It’s built on the AT protocol, an open-source framework which creates a standard format for “user identity, follows, and data on social apps”.
The original idea was that this standard would be adopted by Twitter. Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform put paid to that plan, leading to Bluesky to branch out as an independent social app.
(Image credit: Bluesky)
TL;DR – What is Bluesky?
Bluesky is a social network that was inspired by Twitter, but works in a different way. Rather than being centralized, it's open and decentralized – which means no single company controls it.
Bluesky also gives account holders a lot more control over the moderation of content on their own feeds. Users have the ability to choose the algorithm that drives their experience on the platform, with the option to create custom feeds for different topics or interests.
Users initially had to be invited to join Bluesky, but accounts became publicly available in February. Interestingly, Bluesky allows users to have website URLs as handles, which has the potential to serve as a verification tool.
Bluesky vs Twitter: what are the main differences?
Bluesky’s interface is visually very similar to X. There’s a vertical feed featuring posts that you can reply to, retweet and like. You can also create posts of up to 256 characters. Likewise, profiles on Bluesky borrow heavily from the platform’s Twitter roots.
As mentioned above, one of Bluesky’s biggest selling points is that it’s decentralized. It’s essentially a protocol that can be used to create content feeds, meaning it would be hard for a single person or company to control. In contrast, X centralizes data processing and content moderation, taking it out of the hands of users.
(Image credit: Bluesky)
The other key difference is the degree of control given to individual users. This manifests in the way that content is pushed to your feed. On X, users can choose between the “For you” and “Following” feeds, but they have no influence over the algorithm that drives content to those feeds.
Bluesky vs Twitter: key differences
Bluesky: decentralized, user-controlled, customizable feeds, user owns their data. Twitter: centralized, feeds controlled by X, data locked into X with little portability.
In contrast, Bluesky lets you choose how you want to filter content. By default, there are two feeds on Bluesky: one for accounts you follow and a Discover feed, which shows a bespoke feed of trending content based on your interests and network.
But Bluesky goes further, giving you algorithmic choice by allowing you to create your own custom feeds. While some knowledge of the AT protocol is required to create custom feeds, Bluesky sees this as the future of the platform, with “an open marketplace of feeds” giving users access to content in whatever way they want. Graber claims that more than 50,000 feeds are currently available, catering to all kinds interests and themes.
(Image credit: Bluesky)
As Bluesky continues to gain more users, the number of custom feeds available will increase.
While its current user count of 20 million pales in comparison to the 500 million monthly active users that X claims to have, its rapid growth is only likely to result in the greater availability of niche feeds. This reflects the user experience on Bluesky, which is centered around building close communities from the ground up, based on specific shared interests.
One of the key factors driving users away from X has been the platform’s move towards deregulation, including changes which allow blocked users to still view your posts and profile. In contrast, Bluesky has a traditional block feature, as well as a number of “anti-toxicity” features designed to actively combat harassment. These include the option to detach your original post from someone else’s quote post, giving you control over threads started by you.
Reflecting its decentralized approach, Bluesky does not run adverts, nor does it harvest user data to train generative AI models – unlike X, which does both.
Bluesky vs Threads: what are the main differences?
Like Bluesky, Threads is a relatively new microblogging platform born out of the recent controversies surrounding Twitter/X. Developed and owned by Meta, users can sign in to Threads using their Instagram account details. Because of this integration, it grew rapidly to now boast an active monthly user count north of 275 million.
Visually, Threads has a stripped-back user interface with an aesthetic very similar to Instagram. That close integration makes it easy to find and follow friends, but Threads has also struggled with wider community engagement.
(Image credit: Bluesky)
That’s something it’s trying to address with new features. Inspired by Bluesky, Threads is rolling out support for custom feeds based on topics. These are easy to create: you search for a topic, tap the three dots next to the search bar and select “Create new feed.” You can also add individual accounts to custom feeds, giving you additional flexibility to curate the content you see.
To further foster a sense of community, Threads has also tweaked its algorithm to show users more posts from the people they follow. This “rebalancing” should mean that the “For you” feed shows more content that you care about.
How substantively this will change the feel of Threads remains to be seen, but the speed of the response from Meta is an indication of the impact that Bluesky’s open approach is having.
How to switch from X
(Image credit: Bluesky)
To join Bluesky, all you need to do is set up an account with your email address. You can do this online at bsky.app or by downloading the app from the App Store or Google Play Store. Signing up is straightforward.
Migrating an X account over to Bluesky is a little trickier. We’ve written a feature on how to switch from Bluesky to X. There’s no official method to make this happen, but there is a workaround.
Sky Follower Bridge is an extension that's available for Chrome and Firefox. It allows new Bluesky users to find users who they previously followed (and were followed by) on X.
To use it, you’ll need to add the extension, run it while signed in to Bluesky, then head to X. Head to your Following or Followers page and the extension will scrape the information to give you a list of matched Bluesky accounts.
It’s worth bearing in mind that X is taking steps to prevent screen scraping, so there’s no guarantee how long Sky Follower Bridge will be functional for.
Bluesky private accounts: is it possible to have one?
One thing to bear in mind before joining Bluesky is that there is currently no way to have a private profile.
Bluesky describes itself as a “public social network”, with the AT Protocol “designed to support public conversations”. That means anyone on the web can see them, including your posts and likes. Bluesky says to treat your posts as blog posts.
As a result, you can’t lock your profile. If you want a private profile, you’ll need to stick with X and protect your posts, or sign up for a private profile on Threads.
Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.
What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?
• A
• P
• F
• T
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #1034) - the answers
(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)
The answers to today's Quordle, game #1034, are…
AVOID
PLANT
FILET
TWIRL
This was a remarkably straightforward Quordle game, and one that probably took me all of 60 seconds to solve. I was, admittedly, helped out greatly by my three set start words, STARE, DOILY and PUNCH, which between them gave me all five letters for the top-right answer, and four for the other three. I therefore only needed to add in three more letters to complete the set.
None of the words are particularly tricky even if you didn't get lucky with your strategy (or indeed if you don't have one at all). For instance, FILET doesn't have any obvious alternatives that are similarly spelled apart from maybe GILET, but that's a foreign word (or is it?) The TW at the start of TWIRL is relatively uncommon as these things go, but we're hardly in UVULA territory here. Nothing much to see, move along please.
