Independent Developer Builds Photo-Sharing App for Bluesky Called Flashes
More good news for those looking to exit Meta’s social app ecosystem in favor of a more open alternative: An independent developer is building a photo-sharing app for Bluesky called Flashes. The soon-to-launch app is powered by the same technology that underpins Bluesky, the AT Protocol, and has been built using code from the developer’s earlier Bluesky client, Skeets.
About Flashes
Flashes itself is based on Berlin developer Sebastian Vogelsang’s earlier app, Skeets, his initial foray into creating consumer-facing apps for the growing social network, Bluesky, which now tops 27.5 million users.
Differentiation from Bluesky
While Bluesky offers its own official mobile client, Skeets differentiated itself by focusing on the needs of iPad users as well as customized accessibility features for blind and low-vision users, as that’s one of Vogelsang’s areas of expertise.
Features of Flashes
At launch, Flashes will support photo posts of up to four images and videos of up to 1 minute in length, just like Bluesky. Users who post to Flashes will also have their posts appear on Bluesky and comments on those posts will also feed back into the app as if it were just another Bluesky client. It will also support Bluesky’s direct messages.
How Flashes Works
To make this work, Flashes simply filters Bluesky’s existing timeline for posts with photos and video posts. (In the future, Vogelsang also plans to add metadata to Flashes’ posts so Bluesky users would have a way to keep their feeds on Bluesky’s main app from being flooded with photo posts if that became a problem.)
Launch and Future Plans
Flashes didn’t take too long to build because it was able to reuse Skeets’ existing code. The app will also be able to market to Skeets’ existing user base, who have now downloaded the app some 30,500 times to date.
Vogelsang says he’s now working to integrate subscription-based features from both his apps so users don’t have to pay twice for the premium features, like Skeets’ bookmarks, drafts, muting, rich push notifications, and others specific to Flashes. (Both apps are free to use without a subscription, we should note.)
Later, Vogelsang says he wants to launch a video-only app, too, called Blue Screen.
Conclusion
Flashes is an exciting development for the Bluesky ecosystem, offering users a new way to engage with the platform through a photo-sharing app. With its focus on accessibility and user experience, Flashes has the potential to attract new users and provide a more diverse range of features for Bluesky users.
FAQs
Q: What is Flashes?
A: Flashes is a photo-sharing app for Bluesky, built using the same technology as Bluesky and code from the developer’s earlier app, Skeets.
Q: What features will Flashes have?
A: At launch, Flashes will support photo posts of up to four images and videos of up to 1 minute in length, as well as direct messages and commenting.
Q: Will Flashes be available for public download?
A: Yes, Flashes will be available for public download in a matter of weeks, with a TestFlight beta arriving ahead of that.
Q: What is the developer’s plan for the future of Flashes?
A: Vogelsang plans to integrate subscription-based features from both Skeets and Flashes, and eventually launch a video-only app called Blue Screen.
