Flashes, a new social media app built on the Bluesky platform, is positioning itself as an Instagram alternative and is now available for download on Apple’s App Store. Developed by Berlin-based engineer Sebastian Vogelsang, Flashes leverages the AT Protocol used by Bluesky, meaning its fundamental requirements for images and video uploads mirror those found on Bluesky itself. Initially, users on Bluesky could only post up to four images and videos limited to one minute. However, with the recent Bluesky 1.99 version upgrade, users can upload videos up to three minutes in length.
The experience on Flashes closely resembles Instagram, featuring an image-centric, scrollable feed, complete user profiles, and built-in photo filters. One unique advantage is that, rather than building a network from zero, Flashes users instantly become part of Bluesky’s larger community, which now boasts over 37 million users. This integration means visual posts from Bluesky users who may not necessarily use Flashes are still accessible within the Flashes feed. Additionally, posting content through Flashes simultaneously broadcasts posts on Bluesky’s network, making it seamless to connect across both platforms—though users who prefer keeping their content separate may wish to create a dedicated Bluesky account.
Besides browsing feeds, Flashes allows users to explore over 50,000 specialized Bluesky feeds covering diverse interests and media formats. Just like on Bluesky, engagement actions such as likes, reposts, and comment replies will synchronize and appear seamlessly across both platforms.
To further appeal to creatives, Flashes introduces a “Portfolio” feature enabling photographers and visual artists to showcase selected content prominently on their profiles. Users can enable this function by navigating to an “Advanced” profile setting called “Flashes Profile,” where they can handpick the posts they’d like to highlight. Additional customization options permit users to toggle visibility for likes, lists, and other media-filtering settings, allowing users more personalized control of their account presentation.
Signing up is straightforward if users already possess a Bluesky account, as credentials transfer smoothly to Flashes. New users can sign up directly via the Flashes app itself, where account creation defaults to Bluesky’s primary server, bluesky.social. Technically adept users, however, may choose alternative custom hosting providers. Account registration is simple and involves entering an email address, password, date of birth, and acceptance of Bluesky’s Terms of Use and Community Guidelines.
Looking ahead, Vogelsang has ambitious plans to expand Flashes’ functionality. These developments include the addition of push notifications, multi-account management, bookmarks, enhanced editing tools, and future support for features like stories, albums, and longer-form videos. There are also proposals for premium subscription models to finance development of Android and web versions, with subscription benefits potentially extending to Vogelsang’s other third-party Bluesky projects, such as the Skeets and Bluescreen apps.
Although Flashes is distinctive in its offering, similar decentralized solutions exist elsewhere: Pinksky, another emerging Bluesky-based Instagram counterpart, and Pixelfed, which serves photo-sharing needs in the Mastodon ecosystem via the ActivityPub protocol.
Ultimately, the developer intends to further evolve Flashes into an independent AT Protocol platform, maintaining compatibility with Bluesky’s ecosystem while creating its own distinct identity. For now, the app can be downloaded free from the App Store and requires devices running iOS 17 or later.
