Flashes – Bluesky gets its own photo app
Bluesky is becoming an X replacement. Now Instagram is also under attack. Flashes app becomes a platform for photos.
Screenshot Flashes at Bluesky
Bluesky is getting an independent service for sharing photos called the Flashes app. However, the creators are hoping for an initial test phase from the end of January. The Flashes account on Bluesky already has 18,000 followers as of Thursday morning.
The announcement comes in line with the changes Mark Zuckerberg has announced for Meta's platforms. In the USA, fact-checkers will be abolished and replaced by community notes. Several moderation guidelines have also been removed. Many statements that were previously prohibited are now permitted. This applies, for example, to statements about the LGBTQI+ community. As a result, there are people who are currently planning to leave Facebook, Instagram and Threads. Flashes could therefore become a replacement for Instagram, just as Bluesky has become the new home for those who miss Twitter.
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Based on the Bluesky protocol
Flashes is based on the same protocol as Bluesky. In addition, the founders have used code that they also developed for the Skeets client. With Skeets for Bluesky, you can access the network via the third-party provider, but the app comes with extensions, including improved accessibility. The developers are based in Berlin. Flashes looks pretty much exactly like Instagram in the short videos on the Bluesky channel.
Bluesky itself currently has around 28 million users. Although this is a far cry from the number of users on Meta's platforms or TikTok, the community is growing steadily. The impending TikTok ban in the USA could lead to further migration. Rednotes is currently the most downloaded app in the USA. This is a Chinese service that is actually about enabling wealthy Chinese women to store for products from all over the world. Its proximity to the Chinese government is by no means less than that of TikTok. Because of this proximity and the associated influence, the service is currently threatened with closure in the USA.
An independent app for iOS and Android was also recently released for the Fediverse platform Pixelfed. It is also increasingly in demand.
(emw)
