X Introduces Curated ‘Starterpacks’ to Guide New Follows
Bluesky’s “Starter Packs” — curated lists of suggested accounts to follow — have quickly become a popular way for users to connect with like-minded people on the platform. The feature’s success has not gone unnoticed, with X now moving to introduce its own version.
On Wednesday, X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, revealed in a post that the Elon Musk–owned platform will soon roll out a similar feature, officially named “Starterpacks.”
Helping Users Find Relevant Voices
The core aim of X’s new Starterpacks is to help users more easily discover accounts that align with their interests. According to the announcement, the curated lists will span a wide range of categories, including:
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News
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Politics
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Fashion
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Technology
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Business & Finance
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Health & Fitness
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Gaming
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Stocks
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Memes
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And more
By offering ready-made lists, X hopes to improve onboarding and engagement, particularly for new or returning users who may find the platform overwhelming.
A Key Difference From Bluesky’s Approach
While the concept mirrors Bluesky’s Starter Packs, there is a notable distinction in how the lists are created.
On Bluesky, any user can build and share their own Starter Packs, allowing community-driven recommendations to flourish. X, however, has taken a centralised approach, producing the lists internally rather than relying on user curation.
As Bier explained in his post on X, the company “scoured the world for the top posters in every niche and country” over several months to compile the Starterpacks. This means the recommendations are built using X’s internal data, rather than personal endorsements from individual users.
Bier added that the new feature is expected to become available to all users in the “coming weeks.”
Suggested Users: A Familiar Concept for X
The idea of recommended accounts is not new to X. Back when the platform operated as Twitter, suggested user lists were a core part of the experience.
As one of the earliest interest-based social networks, Twitter users often joined the platform not to connect with friends — as they did on Facebook — but to follow people who shared their ideas, expertise, or passions. To support this behaviour, Twitter offered curated lists of suggested accounts to follow.
However, the feature was not without controversy. Being added to the Suggested Users List could dramatically increase a person’s visibility and follower count, leading some users to view the system as unfair. In response, Twitter revamped the feature in 2010, shifting from editorial selection to a model driven by algorithms.
Other Platforms Also Follow Bluesky’s Lead
X is not alone in adapting Bluesky’s Starter Pack concept. Other major platforms have already begun experimenting with similar tools.
In December 2024, Meta’s Threads started testing its own version of Starter Packs. Like Bluesky’s, Threads’ lists were created by users and surfaced during sign-up and within the For You feed to help people discover relevant accounts more quickly.
Meanwhile, the decentralised social network Mastodon has also been developing its own “Packs”, designed specifically to improve the onboarding experience for new users navigating its federated ecosystem.
A Growing Focus on Smarter Onboarding
As social platforms compete for attention and retention, features like Starter Packs highlight a broader industry trend: making discovery simpler and more personalised from day one. Whether curated by users or built through internal data, these tools are becoming increasingly central to how platforms attract and keep engaged communities.
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