Flashes, a novel Instagram alternative built on top of the Bluesky social network, has officially launched its beta version, inviting users to test the app's features and capabilities. Announced just weeks ago, Flashes aims to provide a more open and inclusive platform for users seeking an alternative to Meta's social networking empire.

Developed by Berlin-based developer Sebastian Vogelsang, Flashes leverages the AT Protocol (atproto) that powers Bluesky, allowing users to post photos and videos of up to one minute in length. The app's unique feature is its ability to filter Bluesky's timeline for posts with photos and videos, providing users with a curated feed. Moreover, users can switch between their own Bluesky feeds within Flashes to explore different views of the social network.

Vogelsang's vision for Flashes is to attract newcomers to Bluesky who may not have seen themselves as a "Twitter person." By offering a more Instagram-like experience, Flashes hopes to pull in users who are looking for a more visual-centric platform. With Bluesky's growing reach, having recently hit 30 million users and 1 billion posts, Flashes is poised to benefit from the social networking startup's expanding user base.

Flashes' beta launch was made possible by Vogelsang's ability to reuse code from his earlier app, Skeets, a Bluesky client with over 30,000 users. This has enabled the developer to test features like push notifications, support for multiple accounts, bookmarks, and user notifications. Future plans include adding more image editing options, support for Stories, and possibly custom profile pages.

In the long run, Vogelsang aims to integrate subscription features into all his apps, ensuring that users don't have to pay twice when switching between his various clients. Additionally, he is exploring the idea of expanding both Flashes and Bluescreen, another app building a TikTok-like experience for Bluesky, to work with atproto more directly. This would allow for features like longer videos.

Despite current technical difficulties with the beta, which is running on Apple's TestFlight platform, Vogelsang is working with Apple's engineering team to resolve the issue. The beta has seen around 3,500 sign-ups within its first hour, indicating healthy consumer demand. Interested users can still sign up for the beta through a dedicated form.

It's worth noting that Flashes is not the only app building an Instagram alternative on open protocol. Pinksky, another Bluesky photos client, is already up and running, while Pixelfed has launched its mobile apps, which run on the ActivityPub protocol, also used by Mastodon. This growing trend towards open and decentralized social networking platforms is likely to continue shaping the industry in the coming years.

In conclusion, Flashes' beta launch marks an exciting development in the social media landscape, offering users a more open and inclusive alternative to traditional platforms. As the app continues to evolve and improve, it will be interesting to see how it fares in the market and what implications it may have for the future of social networking.