Significant shifts are taking place within the realm of social media as TikTok gears up to vanish, Mark Zuckerberg eases content limitations on Meta applications, and Elon Musk continuously adjusts the X algorithm to align with his individual tastes.

Fortunately, in spite of the unpredictable habits of most app enthusiasts, Bluesky has managed to emerge as a truly promising alternative. Owing to the core essence of its open protocol, anyone has the ability to develop their personal applications that capitalize on the Bluesky social network.

To illustrate this point, a programmer called Sebastian Vogelsang is crafting an application that will essentially act as a novel version of Instagram atop Bluesky’s AT Protocol. Since it utilizes the Bluesky social network, posts added to Flashes will also be visible on the main Bluesky client, and vice-versa—images posted to Bluesky will be shown on Flashes. The application is merely filtering out text-based posts, displaying only those featuring photos or videos. By utilizing the app, users are able to share image slideshows with a maximum of four pictures, or videos up to one minute long.

Vogelsang notes that Flashes is not designed to be a complete imitation of Instagram and will not receive numerous features Instagram offers. This is understandable, as the application is merely a redesign of the Bluesky app. Many individuals have expressed a longing for the earlier days when Instagram was straightforward, devoid of AI-generated content or unusual suggestions. Flashes might potentially address that gap.

Elon Musk’s takeover of X, formerly known as Twitter, gave Bluesky considerable momentum, though its expansion has decelerated in recent months. It’s estimated that Bluesky has approximately 27 million active participants. This figure remains far from the magnitude of platforms like Instagram and TikTok, and it still lags behind X as well. Attaining a critical mass for any social platform is exceedingly challenging, and X’s influence continues to expand as Musk starts serving as President-elect Trump’s close advisor.

Nevertheless, Bluesky holds a bright future if it can continue to develop steadily. The company secured a $15 million funding round back in October, with plans to introduce paid subscriptions to avoid dependency on advertisements or collecting user information. Most large social platforms today have shut their APIs to third-party clients since they complicate the display and targeting of advertisements, while the information itself is utilized for training AI.

Vogelsang informed TechCrunch that Flashes is scheduled to launch in the upcoming weeks. Anyone eager to explore it can follow the Flashes account on Bluesky to receive updates.