- Flashes is an upcoming app built on Bluesky's AT Protocol, focusing on media sharing.
- Users can share up to four photos at a time or videos up to 1 minute.
- The app will be free to download at launch, with potential subscription-based services in the future.
Lately, social media giants have been going through a rough patch of sorts. Facebook is dialing down on content moderation, X is suffering through Musk’s policy changes, and a ban on TikTok in the U.S. looms large. Between all this noise, there are talks about a new photo-sharing platform called Flashes from Bluesky.
Flashes is an upcoming app based on Bluesky that will allow users to post up to four photos or a one-minute video. By the sound of it, the app seems like a competition to Instagram. However, Flashes is technically a Bluesky client that filters out Bluesky’s text-based content and focuses on just the media part. Here’s a preview of it:
[image or embed]— Flashes App 📱 (@flashesapp.bsky.social) January 15, 2025 at 11:04 PM
It leverages Bluesky’s AT Protocol and will use its social graph. This way, posts with images and videos uploaded to Bluesky will appear in Flashes, and vice versa. It is the brainchild of Berlin-based independent Developer, Sebastian Vogelsang who previously worked on another Bluesky client called Skeet.
According to Vogelsang, the app will open up a new entry point for users. It’s intended for those who enjoy browsing Instagram and don’t consider themselves as much of a “Twitter Person”. However, it won’t be ripping off Instagram, as much of the Meta-owned platform’s features won’t make it to Flashes.
Flashes will be available to download in the coming weeks. While the app will be free at launch, the developer has shown interest in making it a subscription-based service.
Given the success of Bluesky in the U.S. and people’s resilience to switch to Instagram Reels as and preferring RedNote as a result of the TikTok ban, this new app might just be what people are looking for. It could bring the good old days of Instagram before the Reel-ification of the service that many (not me) long for. But what are your thoughts on the topic? Would you prefer a decentralized Instagram alternative? Let us know in the comments below.
