Pixelfed, a decentralized alternative to Instagram, has launched its official mobile apps. The service today runs on the same ActivityPub protocol that

The Fediverse website offers users the same photo-sharing experience as Instagram without any of the surveillance.

The platform is seeing a surge in popularity following Meta’s announcement last week that it would be drastically changing its content moderation policies; over the weekend, Pixelfed said that it’s seeing “unprecedented levels of traffic” to the pixelfed.

Pixelfed is now available as a mobile apps for both iOS and Android. The open source, decentralized platform offers image sharing similar to Instagram. However, Pixelfed has no advertisements and does not share user data with third parties.

Pixelfed’s emphasis on user autonomy and privacy stands in stark contrast to Meta’s recent loosening of moderation standards. As Meta relaxes its policies, Pixelfed’s ethical stance offers a compelling alternative for users concerned about privacy, hate speech, and surveillance on corporate-owned platforms.

Pixelfed feels a lot like Instagram. It allows you to share photos, like posts, and leave comments but it is only when you take a closer look, you notice that it is not all the same.