Flashes is Bluesky's Answer to Instagram
The new photo-sharing app is designed to bring back the no-algorithm, no-ads experience that Instagram abandoned long ago.
If you've been following the tech space for a while, you'd know that social media has always been a game of imitation and copycats. Last year, Instagram made a bold move into microblogging with Threads, going head-to-head with X (formerly Twitter).
Thanks to its built-in Instagram connection, it became the fastest-growing app ever, quickly surpassing 100 million users and leaving platforms like Bluesky and Truth Social scrambling to keep up.
Now, Bluesky is flipping the script.
The decentralized social network, which has been quietly gaining steam—especially after X temporarily got banned in Brazil— is expanding beyond microblogging and stepping into Instagram's photo-sharing territory. And it’s doing so with Flashes. First announced in January, the new app that brings back the classic photo-sharing experience—no ads, no suggested posts, just photos and videos from the people you actually follow.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
A Decentralized Instagram Alternative
If you’ve ever wished Instagram would ditch the endless algorithmic posts and just show you what your friends are sharing, Flashes might be your new favourite app. The Instagram-like app filters out everything that isn’t an image or video, so there’s no clutter—just a clean, chronological feed. And with over 50,000 feeds to choose from, you can shape your experience however you like.
While Flashes takes inspiration from early Instagram, it also comes with some fresh ideas. Users can post up to four images per post or videos up to a minute long. There’s also a portfolio mode for curating how their profile looks.
Like Bluesky itself, Flashes runs on the AT Protocol, meaning it’s decentralized and not locked into a single platform. What you post on Flashes can easily transfer to another app (Bluesky) built on the same protocol, giving you more control and portability over your content. It’s a similar idea to the Fediverse, which powers platforms like Mastodon and, more recently, Threads.
Meanwhile, Flashes has already made a strong debut, surpassing 28,000 downloads within the first 24 hours of leaving beta. And with Bluesky passing 30 million users in January 2025, every one of those accounts is a potential Flashes user, giving the app a built-in audience that could help it scale fast.
But while its decentralized, algorithm-free experience is a huge draw, the app however come with some minor annoyances. For one, notifications are duplicated—users get alerts in both Bluesky and Flashes, which could become overwhelming. Also, if you delete your account on one app, it deletes your profile on the other.
The Future of Flashes?
With Instagram becoming more commercialized and algorithm-driven, apps like Flashes are betting on a return to a simpler, user-controlled experience. While it’s too early to say if Flashes will become a serious rival to Instagram, its fast adoption and built-in Bluesky audience make it a strong contender.
For anyone frustrated with Instagram’s endless algorithmic meddling, Flashes is a refreshing alternative. Whether it can truly challenge Instagram remains to be seen.
