Open-Source App Pixelfed Aims to Recapture What Made Instagram Fun

Instagram alternative Pixelfed launched a mobile app last week on Android and landed on iOS today. The decentralized, ad-free, and open-source platform, which aims to offer “a fresh take on photo sharing,” has surged in popularity and even run afoul of Meta moderation.

Beyond its popularity boom, Pixelfed made news this week because Instagram owner Meta blocked links to Pixelfed, a move Meta now describes as a mistake.

404 Media reports that Meta labeled links to Pixelfed.social as “spam,” and had been deleting them. While some of these links have since been reinstated, the timing is fascinating.

Pixelfed.social is the largest server on the open-source platform. Initially launched in 2018, Pixelfed says this server received “unprecedented levels of traffic” in the last few days, with some, including Engadget, speculating that the uptick in traffic is in response to Meta’s much-maligned move to loosen its content moderation standards.

While Meta said this reversal would “reduce censorship,” it appears that, much like the so-called free speech advocates at X (formerly Twitter), Meta may have instead meant that only certain content would slip through and other, decidedly not harmful content would still fall victim to good old-fashioned suppression. It would not be the first time a social media company blocked links to competing platforms while championing a lack of censorship.

Beyond promising many Instagram-like features including image sharing, commenting, photo filters, likes, direct messages, robust privacy settings, and even things Instagram doesn’t have, like album sharing, Pixelfed promises protective measures that Meta apps no longer have. The open-source photo-sharing app pledges to be safe, reliable, and free from corporate influence. The platform promises to honor fundamental rights, respect privacy, offer freedom from surveillance, safeguard against hate speech, protect vulnerable communities, and more.

Pixelfed creator Dan Supernault’s Pixelfed profile (web version).

“Pixelfed is a lot of things, but one thing it is not, is an opportunity for VC or others to ruin the vibe. I’ve turned down VC funding and will not inject advertising of any form into the project,” Pixelfed creator Daniel Supernault wrote on Mastodon.

“Pixelfed is for the people, period,” Supernault adds.

So far, the people are responding in a big way. Pixelfed is the number one social app in numerous markets on the Google Play Store right now, and it is poised to make a similar splash on iOS.

New users can get started on Pixelfed via the new mobile apps or by signing up on the Pixelfed website. Once signed up, users can join the server of their choice, start following accounts, and begin posting. Pixelfed is free to use and doesn’t have ads. The app’s code is open source, and the platform does not collect user data.

Image credits: Pixelfed