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Pixelfed: The open source alternative to Instagram

Learn how Pixelfed brings privacy, control, and community to social media.

What if there was a social media platform that is as vibrant and visual as Instagram but without constant ads, data mining, and profit-driven motives?

I’ve been interested in photography since I co-opted my father’s Kodak 620 camera as a young boy. I used it to take pictures of the flora and fauna of our neighborhood. My love of photography led me to an Instamatic camera in high school and eventually to digital cameras as they entered the marketplace in the late 1990s.

Now, I use an iPhone 15 to snap pictures of scenes that inspire me. I started using Instagram in 2011 when my daughter suggested it. I have over 4800 posts, but increasingly, the platform is driven by algorithms prompting me to buy products or serve me AI-generated images that fail to capture my imagination.

What is Pixelfed?

What if there was a social media platform that is as vibrant and visual as Instagram but without constant ads, data mining, and profit-driven motives? Enter Pixelfed—a decentralized, open source alternative offering fresh air in social networking. Whether you are a seasoned photographer, an aspiring artist, or a social media enthusiast seeking a more ethical and community-focused platform, Pixelfed provides a visually stunning way to share your moments and connect with like-minded individuals.

Pixelfed allows you to share your pictures with a broader audience without sacrificing privacy. It doesn’t track your activity or show ads. You have more control over your data and who can see your posts. Community-driven: Each Pixelfed instance has its own community and moderators, creating a more intimate and engaging experience. It’s decentralized, which means Pixelfed is spread across many different servers called instances.

Getting started with Pixelfed

Joining Pixelfed is easy! Go to the Pixelfed flagship instance Pixelfed.social and choose sign-in with Mastodon.

Pixelfed login page screen capture
Screen picture by Don Watkins, CC-BY–SA 4.0

Your avatar, bio, username, and followed accounts from Mastodon will be automatically imported, saving you time and effort. The Pixelfed blog documents the process for signing in with your Mastodon account.

Once logged in to the web, you can choose the Discover button on the left and find other Pixelfed users. It’s easy to upload pictures to your account from your web browser or from an app on your phone. Pixelfed supports both iOS and Android users.

Pixelfed create post screen capture
Screen picture by Don Watkins, CC-BY–SA 4.0

Import your content directly from Instagram, or you can host Pixelfed if that interests you.

More about Pixelfed

Remember, Pixelfed is spread across many different instances and connects to the broader Fediverse. This allows communication with users on other ActivityPub-based networks like Mastodon. You control who sees what. You can share images, follow others, and interact across different Pixelfed instances. Pixelfed offers a more ethical and empowering way to connect with others online.

More from We Love Open Source

This article is adapted from “Pixelfed’s charm: A haven for creatives” by Don Watkins, and is republished with permission from the author.

About the Author

I am Don Watkins, a free and open source software (FOSS) advocate.

Read Don's Full Bio

The opinions expressed on this website are those of each author, not of the author's employer or All Things Open/We Love Open Source.

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