General Information

What is Flashes for Bluesky?

Flashes is a photo/video-sharing app designed for the Bluesky social network. It provides a familiar and intuitive way to share visual content, similar to what users expect from other photo-sharing platforms.

Who's behind Flashes?

Flashes was created by Sebastian Vogelsang, an IT consultant and iOS developer from Berlin with 15 years of experience in developing accessible iOS / iPadOS / macOS apps.

Is Flashes an official Bluesky app?

No. Flashes is a third-party app designed to enhance the photo-sharing experience on Bluesky. It is not affiliated with Bluesky PBC but integrates fully with the network.

Is Flashes its own network / platform?

No. Flashes is not a standalone network but a Bluesky client built on the AT Protocol. This means all posts made on Flashes are part of the broader Bluesky ecosystem and visible to all Bluesky users. While Flashes provides a media-first experience, it does not operate as a separate platform.

However, the long-term vision for Flashes is to evolve into an independent ATProto-based network with its own infrastructure, while still maintaining interoperability with Bluesky. This transition depends on funding, as setting up and maintaining a dedicated infrastructure requires significant resources. The goal is to give users more control over their content and experience, without being reliant on Bluesky’s network.

Using Flashes

What can I share on Flashes?

You can share:

• Up to 4 photos in a single post
• Videos up to 1 minute in length All content you share through Flashes will also appear on your Bluesky timeline.

Do I need a Bluesky account to use Flashes?

Yes. Flashes requires a Bluesky account to post content. You can either sign in with your existing Bluesky account or create a new one directly from the app.

How does Flashes work with Bluesky?

Flashes is built on Bluesky's AT Protocol and filters your Bluesky timeline for visual content. Comments and interactions on your Flashes posts will sync with Bluesky, and you'll have access to Bluesky's direct messaging system. When you post a photo or video through Flashes, it creates a regular Bluesky post that is visible to all Bluesky users.

Can I use my existing Bluesky account?

Yes. You can log in with your existing Bluesky account, and all your posts made via Flashes will appear on your Bluesky profile. However, since Flashes focuses on visual content, text-based notifications from Bluesky may feel out of place.

Should I create a separate account for Flashes?

For the best experience, consider creating a dedicated Bluesky account for your photo and video posts. This allows you to keep your visual content separate from your regular Bluesky activities.

Are my posts private?

No. Bluesky is a public network, and all posts, likes, and replies are public. Blocks and blocklists are also public, while mutes remain private. However, mutelists and their subscriptions are public.

Can I delete my Flashes account?

Well, since there is no separate 'Flashes' account, you would essentially delete the Bluesky account you use with Flashes. Be sure you want to remove your entire Bluesky presence before proceeding. If you just want to discontinue using the app you can simply logout and remove it from your phone. Your Bluesky account will remain unchanged.

Features and Functionality

How does the Portfolio function work?

The Portfolio function allows you to showcase only the media you select on your Flashes profile, giving you control over how your profile appears to others. Additionally, you can choose to hide the media tab or any other tab on your profile for further customization.

Can I use Flashes without posting on Bluesky?

No. Since Flashes is currently a Bluesky client, everything you post on Flashes will also appear on Bluesky. However, posts made through Flashes are tagged with an 'invisible' tag. If you don’t want to see posts from Flashes in your everyday Bluesky experience, you can simply mute the tag flashes-app-ln3348nvl89 in Bluesky.

Will I be able to filter posts in Flashes?

Yes. Soon, Flashes will offer a filtering option that allows users to see only content created by a photo/video-first Bluesky client, making it easier to browse visual content exclusively.

Future Plans

Will there be an Android or Web version?

Flashes is developed by a solo indie developer specializing in native iOS and iPadOS apps. The decision to launch on iOS first wasn’t about excluding Android users—it was about using the tools I know best to bring this to life as quickly as possible.

That said, I absolutely want to support Android and Web in the future. The timeline for this depends on funding: either through external investment (which would speed things up) or by bootstrapping through subscriptions in the iOS app. The latter might take a little longer, but I’m confident there is a path forward.

Will there be subscriptions?

Yes. Flashes started as a side project that I’ve worked on in my free time alongside a full-time job. However, I want to take it further and commit more time to its development. Subscriptions will help sustain the project and fund future development, including an Android and Web version.

If you’ve used my other app, Skeets, you know that subscriptions offer valuable enhancements for a small price. Flashes will follow a similar model, providing features like post notifications, customization options, and multi-account support for subscribers.

Will there be a shared subscription between Flashes and your other apps?

Yes, but it won’t be available immediately. I need to set up the backend to handle the shared subscription, which will take a few weeks. In the meantime, I offer both monthly and yearly subscription plans, so you can choose whether to subscribe now or wait for the bundle option.

What is the path forward for Flashes?

After the App Store release, I want to continue developing features that empower creators to express themselves. This includes adding image manipulation tools and filters in the composer.

For consumers, I have a long list of planned features, some of which are already implemented but need more testing. These include:

• Multi-account support
• iPad layout improvements
• Push notifications
• Post notifications
• Support for longer videos
• Support for more pictures per post
• Editing posts
• Posts that are visible only to followers for a limited time
• Albums in your profile
• Batched image transfer from other platforms
• Adding music to pictures

Ultimately, I’d like Flashes to evolve into its own ATProto-based platform within the AT ecosystem while remaining compatible with Bluesky. This way, users can continue sharing their posts on Bluesky but won’t be required to do so.

Technical & Conceptual Questions

Why don’t you build Flashes separate from Bluesky?

There are two main reasons:

1. I believe it’s a great advantage to have a large, unified social graph of over 30 million users with different apps selectively curating what they want to display. This way, Bluesky becomes appealing to users looking for a photo and video experience who may have previously been turned off by the microblogging focus. In the past, different types of content—photo sharing, video sharing, and microblogging—were siloed into separate networks. With Bluesky, everyone can interact within a single ecosystem while still experiencing the content they enjoy most.

2. Building Flashes as a completely separate platform would require a large team and significant funding. Running an independent network means setting up infrastructure to host user-uploaded media and managing a dedicated moderation team to oversee content. As a solo developer, I simply don’t have the resources to provide these services at this time.

I'm hesitant to join Flashes—what if Bluesky isn’t the right platform for me long-term?

The beauty of ATProto (the protocol Bluesky is built on) is that no one owns your data but you. You can easily host your data on your private server or pull it from the network if you ever want to leave. There is no lock-in like there was with other social media platforms.

Why does Flashes require iOS 17 or later?

Flashes takes advantage of the latest SwiftUI framework improvements introduced in iOS 17 and iOS 18. These updates allow me to build a fast, modern, and feature-rich app with a small codebase and limited resources. If I had to manually recreate these new system features for older iOS versions, development would slow down significantly, and Flashes wouldn’t be where it is today.

That being said, the ultimate goal is to make Flashes as backward-compatible as possible in the future. However, for now, requiring iOS 17+ lets me focus on building new features rather than spending time maintaining workarounds for older iOS versions.

Support

How can I report issues or suggest features?

You can report issues here or suggest new features here.

How can I support Flashes?

You can support Flashes by using the app, subscribing, providing feedback, and sharing it with others who enjoy visual content on Bluesky. Every bit of support helps bring Flashes to more platforms. Find us on Bluesky