Pixelfed

Shown for US

• Free

Last verified 6 Aug 2026

Shown for US

4.2 539 ratings · App Store

1. 4/5Great! Only Onboarding Needs Improvement

   I’ve been waiting for this app for quite a while and it does everything it should really well for me. I’m very pleased with having neat photo sharing that’s not under the control of some corporate overlord, and free from algorithms too. My only issue was the onboarding, with the choice of servers out there. It required a little bit of jumping back and forth between the server’s web interface, email for the confirmation, then back to the app. It would be fantastic if the sign up process could be integrated into the app itself (if possible) for a smoother experience. That’s a one time process of course, but it’s a bit convoluted.

   Alexander SD. · 6 Aug 2026

2. 3/5Great start!

   I really like this app. I’m so tired of Meta‘s algorithm, mixed-up timelines, and, well, YOU KNOW. So I really like this app. I love the fact that it‘s chronological and ad-free. That said, they really need to beef up their Collections abilities. As it is now, you can make Collections (albums), which I really like the idea of since I have multiple OF accounts for different topics. I would like to have albums for these different topics so people could easily find said albums and subscribe. But I can’t figure out how to see anyone else‘s collections and MINE seem to be invisible to everyone else. Also, adding/editing collections is only able to be done on a computer - not on your phone/ipad app which is a bummer because we‘re all wanting to use this on the road inside the app. What I would REALLY like are buttons on my profile under the bio sonor would be easy for someone to click „plants“ or „family“ or whatever and be able to subscribe to just that collection. It would also be pretty nice to be able to assign photos to collections when you’re posting it. It‘s fine that I can’t do that and I would give up that option in a heartbeat if I was able to utilize the collections more inside the app as well as view and subscribe to specific collections of other users. Or, if that doesn’t work, make it a possibility to add multiple profiles to the same login so I could split stuff up that way.

   Rukian (roo-key-en) · 6 Aug 2026

3. 3/5Definitely has potential

   The app itself is pretty simple to understand and use, especially if you’ve used Instagram before. My biggest concerns are that it lacks notifications and most times I have to open the page in my browser to upload photos that the app considers too big in file size. I appreciate that it has a lot of features that we’re all used to, but I’m hoping some features can be added in the future. Features such as maybe a suggestions option in the search area (not so much algorithm-based, but to help find more users of common interests), the ability to toggle settings for post visibility that may be hidden for various reasons. You can find accounts by common hashtags, but suggestions would minimize deep diving posts one by one. Still a decent app overall, but I’d like to use on the app more than depend on the website.

   IDKhow2ACK · 6 Aug 2026

4. 4/5Enjoyable, but clunky

   I just joined pixelfed to get away from Instagram and the sponsored wasteland it has become. So far I enjoy the layout of this app as it reminds me of Instagram before Meta took over. It’s a little slow and clunky right now, it won’t allow me to edit my bio and seems to bug out when trying to follow people or tags but I’m optimistic that it may have to do with many new users signing up and should clear up soon. I really enjoy the posts I’ve seen so far and I’m excited to have a new quiet happy space on the internet that’s not bombarded with ads and suggested sponsored content.

   Bunny762 · 6 Aug 2026

5. 5/5Its pretty decent

   It's far from feature parity with instagram but its a great open source option, you can host your own content privately with friends, say you are in a frat or sorority, have someone host a pixelfed instance and you could have your own instagram (just dont federate lol) I really get the appeal of private social media where you could make your own instances with friends for like twitter, ig clones and then only federate (link) with servers of people you know like and trust Upside being you and your friends make your own rules for your interactions and get more privacy The alternative apps for pixelfed look better tho*

   hardlysleep.ing · 6 Aug 2026

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