Pixelfed

In this article we are going to talk about Pixelfed, a topic that has been present throughout history and that continues to be relevant in today's society. Pixelfed has aroused great interest and debate, both in academia and in public opinion, due to its impact on different aspects of daily life. Over time, Pixelfed has been the subject of studies, research and reflections that have contributed to expanding our understanding of this topic. In this sense, we will address different perspectives and approaches to better understand the importance and meaning of Pixelfed today.

Pixelfed
Developer(s)Daniel Supernault
Initial releaseDec 25, 2018; five years ago
Stable release
0.11.13
Repositorygithub.com/pixelfed/pixelfed
Written inPHP
PlatformWeb
Available in44 languages
LicenseAGPLv3+
Websitepixelfed.org

Pixelfed is a free and open-source image sharing social network service. The platform distinguishes itself from other image sharing services through its decentralized architecture, meaning user data is not stored on a central server. It uses the ActivityPub protocol, allowing users to interact with other social networks within the protocol, such as Mastodon, PeerTube, and Friendica. Pixelfed and other platforms utilizing this protocol are considered to be part of the Fediverse. The network is made up of several independent sites that communicate with one another, which is roughly comparable to e-mail providers. The parties involved do not all have to be registered with the same provider, but can still communicate with each other. Thus, users are able to sign up on any server and follow others on the other instances.

Much like Mastodon, Pixelfed implements chronological timelines without content manipulation algorithms. It also aims to be privacy-focused with no third party analytics or tracking. Pixelfed optionally organizes its media by hashtags, geo-tagging and likes based on each server. It also allows audiences to be distinguished in three ways and on a post-by-post basis: followers-only, public, and unlisted. Like several other social platforms, Pixelfed allows accounts to be locked, when followers must be pre-approved by the owner.

The server maintained by the main developer of Pixelfed enforces a minimum user age of 16 years. However, restrictions may differ across instances.

Features

Pixelfed has photo sharing features similar to the Meta Platforms-owned Instagram service. Users can post photos, stories and collections via an independent, distributed and federating photo community in the form of connected Pixelfed instances. Posts made in the same Pixelfed instance as the user will appear on Local Feed, while posts from other Fediverse instances will be available on Global Feed. The Home Feed, however, will show posts of followed users. The discover page displays images that may be of interest to users.

Each post allows for a maximum of 10 photos or videos attached. Pixelfed also shares some of Mastodon's features, including an emphasis on discovery feeds and content warnings.

Currently, users can post up to 6 gigabytes depending on the instance being used. The development of official apps for both Android and iOS is still in progress

The most popular Pixelfed server is pixelfed.social, with 54,200 users. The second most popular English-language server, shared.graphics, has a community of 1,250 users.

Security

Pixelfed supports two-factor authentication via TOTP mobile apps.

Comparison with Instagram

NLnet argued in 2020 that the tools and features of Pixelfed make it a "more attractive (and ethical) alternative" to Instagram.

In December 2022, John Voorhees wrote a detailed review of using Pixelfed on iOS, and said "Pixelfed is sort of like a decentralized version of Instagram that has adopted the ActivityPub protocol."

Reception

In February 2023, in a detailed review of whether to leave Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the fediverse, Andrew C. Oliver, Columnist for InfoWorld wrote, "Mastodon and Pixelfed feel safer than their non-federated counterparts" and said Pixelfed is the fediverse answer to Instagram. Oliver also said it is early days "in the Pixelfediverse", content is more sparse, but is either more interesting or at least not manipulative. Charlie Sorrel of Lifewire said Pixelfed shows the flexibility of Mastodon, and has the potential to be much better than Twitter because of ActivityPub.

Using Pixelfed has been discussed in books and conference proceedings.

See also

References

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