FIND A NEW CLICK
Instagram’s decision to prioritise video over pictures has left many of its old fans looking for a new community to share photos with
A LOT of people are very upset with Instagram of late.
As the service transitions from a photo-sharing app, to centre itself around short-form video, those who signed up for the photo sharing bit are none too happy.
But there are alternatives if you just want to look at other people’s pics.
Here are four to try – two are very new and two are old, but all have thriving and vibrant communities.
GLASS
They say: Glass is your home for photography. We’re private and member-supported.
We say: An app that was actually created out of the frustration felt about so many photo-sharing services, Glass is as simple as could be. What you have is a simple timeline of photos from people you follow in chronological order.
You can comment on photos, and send the poster ‘appreciation’, but there are no public stats. It’s a paid service, so no ads.
There’s no Android version of the app at the moment, but the web version is so fast and simple, that isn’t a problem.
Cost: £4.49/month, £25.99/year.
BEREAL
They say: BeReal is the simplest photo sharing app to share once a day your real life in photo with friends.
We say: If they’re not scrolling, slack-jawed through TikTok posts, today’s youngsters are very likely to be checking out their pals’ BeReal posts.
It exists as a kind of anti-Instagram. The whole point, as the name suggests, is to be real. The app alerts all users at the same moment that it’s time to post – and then you have two minutes to snap and upload.
The image captures not only what you are looking at, but also an image from the selfie camera, too. You can then scroll through all the pics your friends have posted to see what they’re up to, and react with a pic of your face…
The next day this happens all over again, and all the pics from yesterday are replaced with new ones (your posts are archived for only you to look back on).
Cost: Free
FLICKR
They say: Join the largest, most influential community of photographers in the world.
We say: Of course, Flickr is not new. In fact it was the first photo sharing service to go gangbusters in the early days of Web 2.0.
Founded in 2004 in Vancouver, it grew large enough within a year to be acquired by the then internet giant Yahoo! That union did not go well, however, and without proper investment Flickr was unable to compete with Instagram when it arrived in 2010.
Now owned by fellow-image hosting service SmugMug, Flickr continues to boast a vibrant community.
Cost: Pro account: £6.99/month, £59.99/year
TUMBLR
They say: Old internet energy. Home of the Reblogs. All the art you never knew you needed. All the fandoms you could wish for. Add to it or simply scroll through and soak it up.
We say: Tumblr might not be exclusively for photos, but sharing their snaps is what a lot of people use it for.
Tumblr was another service bought by Yahoo! And then more or less abandoned. It has since been picked up by Automattic – the company that owns and runs WordPress… the software on which around 40% of the world’s websites are built.
Tumblr is very much a throwback to the wild west days of the web, and as such can be a confusing, while also exciting, place to do your scrolling.
Cost: Ad-free: £4.49/month, £35.99/year