I’m not an Instagram hater, but the Meta-owned social app is going through a period of change that has turned more than a few people off, me included. In the wake of Instagram’s alterations, one app has made some promises to photographers and creatives that are too enticing to ignore. It’s called Foto, and after months of being in private beta, it’s now available to everyone on Android and iOS.
Here’s why you should try it out, why I like it, but also why it seriously intimidated me.
What are Foto’s promises?
Instagram isn’t about photography anymore. It’s about social clout, video, Reels, influencers, ads, and — if my hidden DMs are anything to go by — scammers selling fake watches. It has evolved a lot over time, and lost me when it took “inspiration” from apps I don’t wish to use, like Snapchat and TikTok. Even the social aspect where I could quickly connect with friends has taken a backseat, and the algorithm doesn’t promote them to me much anymore.
I don’t hate it, I just don’t really use it. But I am aware some changes have prompted some far more visceral reactions, notably the switch to a forced 4:5 aspect ratio for everything, and a hard push for creatives to embrace video purely for the sake of the algorithm. Instagram is a business competing in a packed space so changes are inevitable over time, and what was once a platform for stills has become something else, which isn’t for everyone. It means apps like Foto have a chance to come in and romance the disillusioned.
Foto promises a “chronological, ad-free, and un-cropped” feed to post and enjoy photography. It is only for stills, and doesn’t support video at all. According to a press release it’s also for people who, “value the power of images to tell stories and bridge divides. Unlike other platforms, Foto doesn’t emphasize follower counts or likes, reducing the social comparison that can come with traditional social media.”
What’s it like?
Foto is very much the anti-Instagram, but will it be the next Instagram, at least for some? By shunning most of the features people associate with any social network, can it engage newcomers effectively enough to make them stick around? Apps like BeReal have tried to do the same, and while it has apparently found its niche after its 15-minutes of fame several years ago, it hasn’t become the “next” anything, but rather its own thing. After the death of Twitter and the corruption of Instagram, I’m looking for a new online home. Would I find it in Foto?
The app is simple. It’s a vertically scrolling feed of still photos, bereft of Like counts or buttons to share, but you can double-tap to add a heart if you like what you see. It takes effort (well, a screen tap) to see who posted the photo, and another tap to see the photographer’s profile and a Follow button. It’s a gallery app, with far less emphasis on the artist than in most social apps, unless you go looking for them. Your personal feed is presented much like Instagram, but without any enforced formatting.
Foto treats its users like adults
Discovery is interesting. You can search for a username and filter photos by subject, but not search for your own interpretation of those keywords. For example, you can filter results to see Automotive photography, but not for photos of a specific brand or vehicle. Another striking difference you’ll immediately notice as you browse is a more lenient approach to censorship than Instagram. Photos with nudity are blurred until you tap on them to reveal the full image. It gives portrait and beauty photographers much more creative freedom, and I think it shows Foto treats its users like adults.
Who uses Foto, and why?
Foto is still a very young platform, so who is already using it, and how do they rate the experience? I asked wildlife and nature photographer Lyndon Llanes, who shows his impressive portfolio of work on both Foto and Instagram, about it.
“I’ve been doing photography for two years. I’m still early on in my journey but photography soothes my soul. It is a passion and hobby for now but maybe it’ll becomes more,” he told me by email.
“I like that the app is simpler than Instagram,” he continued, “and love that [the feed] is chronological. I don’t feel like my exposure and reach rely on an algorithm, and that its for photography and stills. I did backflips when I realized I was not forced into a vertical crop.”
But what about the community, and how do people connect compared to Instagram?
“The engagement is different, it’s more photography based,” LLanes said. “I’ve also noticed people read the photo descriptions, while on Instagram no-one reads them. People want to read the story behind the photo, and I dig that.”
Llanes says his intention is to build a community on Foto, but for now will continue to post to both it and Instagram, saying Instagram makes discovering and following people easier than Foto at the moment. Interestingly, he says Reddit is his top platform for engagement.
Prepare for intimidation
I’ve been exploring Foto for about a week, but have only shared two photos of my own at this time. Why so few? There are two primary reasons. The first comes from thinking the here-and-now is the only thing that matters. If I took a photo last year, I wouldn’t consider sharing it today, because most social media is driven by what’s happening at this moment, and cares little about the past. Foto isn’t like that, and it’ll take a while for my brain to get out of that habit.
The other reason is intimidation. Not from a person or community, but because of the work that’s being posted. It’s almost all fantastic, and is clearly the work of people who take photos for a living or are very talented amateurs. I don’t think I even fall into the second category, and know I’m definitely not in the first. Even the photos I’m most happy with look like the work of a toddler aimlessly pressing the shutter button on My First Camera next to the majority of photos I see on Foto.
It means I don’t feel like I can post, say, a cat photo. Or rather, I could post a cat photo, but it would have to be an utterly stunning, perfectly composed, superbly lit, and finely edited cat photo. Again, I’m aware this feeling is also an overflow from other social media apps, where everything has to look “perfect,” and it’s not really the case. I’m an adult and don’t constantly need affirmation from strangers online, but at the same time I don’t want to contribute somewhere I feel like a bit of an imposter.
An app for everyone?
I like the quiet, less intense environment over at Foto compared to Instagram, where I can consider and examine photos. I also appreciate the chance to make it a personal portfolio, in a way that Instagram once was, and the complete lack of videos moving around to distract me. Foto’s ad-free promise means there is a subscription attached if you want advanced features or to support the team, but the free tier seems to be perfectly usable.
Foto co-founder Micheal Howard said in an early interview he didn’t want Foto to be a “photographer’s water cooler,” and that it was designed to be an app for everyone. He did admit the early adopters would probably be photographers, and this is definitely the case. But perhaps my (and your) cat photos are what’s needed to bring casual photo enthusiasts onboard?
I’m going to stick around, and if you’ve been disillusioned by Instagram and Twitter’s transition into X like I have, then you may want to give it a try too. I’ll see you there.
