Flashes is an Instagram-like client for Bluesky

If yes one of the millions who joined Bluesky Over the past few months, it’s likely that you’ve found yourself put off by established social media platforms. You probably aren’t interested in websites with predatory privacy policiesor those who Appease future presidential administrations with a disdain for the truth. You might like an online space where people can share thoughts, content, and jokes in a way that isn’t explicitly intended to upset or hurt anyone for profit.

Of course, Bluesky is for you, at least as a replacement for There are other options, such as Pixelfed, a decentralized photo sharing platform that now has an official app. But if you’re all about Bluesky, it would be great if you could have the same experience with the community you’ve built there.

That’s why Flashes is one of the more interesting social media concepts I’ve seen recently. The app developed by Sebastian Vogelsang is based on his previous app Skeetsa subscription-optional Bluesky client with a focus on accessibility and other features (for example, if you want to be able to edit your posts, Skeets uses a handy workaround for that). However, with Flashses, Vogelsang’s focus was on providing an Instagram-like experience to the photos and videos shared on Bluesky.

Credit: Sebastian Vogelsang

Here’s the thing: Flashes isn’t really an Instagram competitor. There is no Flashes platform, you do not need to sign up for a Flashes account, and you will not post photos or videos to a dedicated Flashes feed. Instead, the app is a “photo viewing client” for Bluesky. It essentially pulls all the photos and videos from your Bluesky feed and displays them in an interface reminiscent of Instagram. You can publish photos and videos via Flashes, but you actually only publish them to Bluesky. All posts about Flashes, as well as all comments on these posts, will also appear in your Bluesky account.

If you’re curious, unfortunately you’ll have to wait a little longer before you can try it out: This Official Flashes App Bluesky Account I just started posting today and Vogelsang anticipates An open test flight beta for iOS users starts next week. But once the app officially launches, you can use it to post four photos or videos at once. (Videos can be up to a minute long each.)

According to TechCrunchVogelsand also plans to launch a video-only version of Flashes called Blue Screen. Maybe this is a valid TikTok alternative for really passionate Bluesky users.

The news of Flashes comes at an uncertain time for legacy social media. Users flew from X to Alternatives like Bluesky; is the government of the United States close to banning TikTokwhich prompts users to do so are fleeing to other Chinese apps in protest; and Meta repulses many of its users with its bizarre and frustrating decisions. We seem to be at a turning point and people are looking for new, alternative platforms. If you’ve already built your Bluesky following, I don’t see a better photo sharing solution than one that simply works with the app you’ve already invested so much in.