Pixelfed, Instagram's Decentralized Competitor, Is Now On iOS and Android

Pixelfed has launched its mobile app for iOS and Android, solidifying its position as a viable alternative to Instagram. The move also comes at a pivotal moment, as a potential Supreme Court ban on TikTok could drive users to explore other social media platforms. Pixelfed is ad-free, open source, decentralized, defaults to chronological feeds and doesn't share user data with third parties. Engadget reports: The platform launched in 2018, but was only available on the web or through third-party app clients. The Android app debuted on January 9 and the iOS app released today. Creator Daniel Supernault posted on Mastodon Monday evening that the platform had 11,000 users join over the preceding 24 hours and that more than 78,000 posts have been shared to Pixelfed to date. The platform runs on ActivityPub, the same protocol that powers several other decentralized social networks in the fediverse, such as Mastodon and Flipboard. The iOS and Android apps are available at their respective links.

Further reading: Meta Is Blocking Links to Decentralized Instagram Competitor Pixelfed

Great to see competition for Meta, but

[BishopBerkeley]

It would be nice if people were gravitating to a healthier habit, not continuing to waste time on feeds full of worthless shit.

Re:

[fleeped]

You preach to the converted, BishopBerkeley

Federation?

[dskoll]

So, are there plans for Pixelfed to federate with Mastodon? If they use the same software, that should be easy (from a technical point of view, anyway...)

I already have two social network accounts (Mastodon and LinkedIn) or three if you count Slashdot. I really don't want a fourth.

Re:

[Mr. Dollar Ton]

It is already so, I subscribed to a pixelfed account or two from my mastodon account through my 4th party mastodon app. Works as expected.

How?

[memory_register]

Ad fee, no spyware, decentralized... how do they make money?

Re:

[NotRobot]

Wild guess: There will be paid content that the users will be 'gently' nudged towards. Seen a couple less popular platforms that apparently worked like that.

Needless to say, the paid content was...not something I'd normally choose to watch. Fruitcake conspiracy theories, narcissistic self-advertisement, flat-out propaganda, etc.

Re:How?

[Errol backfiring]

In the same way as e-mail. You set up your own server.

Re:

[Alumoi]

By selling your data, same as everybody does (even if you're paying).

Re:

[allo]

How does Mastodon make money? How does Peertube make money? How does XMPP make money? How does Matrix make money?
Currently the servers are run by idealistic people (most are open to donations), you can install the software on your own server and there are companies that can host the software for you for money. It is also absolutely possible to run a ad financed server, but you probably upset your users and lose them to other servers.

Re:

[kwalker]

What makes you think they're trying to make money on this?

Yeah, I get it. Everyone else is! But that doesn't mean that everyone is.

Hidden listing?

[knoledgesponge]

Tried searching the Apple App Store and could not find it, yet the link on the article worked fine. I am also interested in mastodon federation. Also hoping there is a way to avoid some sort of social media to avoid being blocked in China⦠VPNs are such a hassle and often stop working reliably for weeks at a time when important conferences take place etc (Beijing).

Re:

[sosume]

No, it's just that the App Store is a piece of junk. I guess that's what you pay a 30% premium for.

Nothing really new

[Errol backfiring]

There have been a few android apps for Pixelfed around for a while on F-droid: https://search.f-droid.org/?q=... [f-droid.org]

Re:

[kwalker]

Yeah, but this is weird. The Android app PixelDroid [f-droid.org] has been in beta for over a year now (v1.0-beta39 currently), but whatever this thing is in the Play link isn't that app.

twitter and mastodon

[esperto]

this is replace instagram as much as mastodon replaced twitter...