A new photo-sharing app called Flashes has launched on the App Store. Created by Sebastian Vogelsang, the app is designed specifically for users of Bluesky, an alternative to X/Twitter.
Flashes focuses on visual content rather than text posts. Users can share up to four photos or one-minute videos in a single post. The app also includes a “Portfolio” mode that lets photographers choose which media appears on their profiles.
Unlike apps owned by Meta or Elon Musk, Flashes connects to the decentralized Bluesky network. Users can access over 50,000 feeds to customize their content discovery without algorithmic restrictions.
The app offers mental health-friendly features like hiding engagement metrics such as likes, reposts, and comment counts. It also includes an automatic alt-text generator for images to improve accessibility.
Flashes has already gained popularity during testing. According to Vogelsang, the app’s Bluesky account attracted over 68,000 followers in just two weeks, and its beta test reached the 10,000-user limit within hours.
Future updates will add post editing, notifications, bookmarks, and draft features.
“I created an intuitive, visual-first app that fully embraces decentralization, content ownership, and user choice,” says Vogelsang. “Flashes ensures that users retain full ownership of their content without being locked into a single platform.”
