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Ask HN: How would you launch a privacy-first, Instagram-like social network?
21–30 of 120 posts
Re: Ask HN: How would you launch a privacy-first, Instagram-like social network?
#22No e-mail/phone number requirement. New uploaders must be vetted by moderators/quarantined. No video support. Use AI to detect if something is a meme then shadowban the post. Design must look like https://www.fotki.com/
No video support ? No meme support ?
Why would anyone bother ? I think you didn't read the request completely.
Re: Ask HN: How would you launch a privacy-first, Instagram-like social network?
#23Re: Ask HN: How would you launch a privacy-first, Instagram-like social network?
#24Why would you build it? That isn't being snarky, it is the question you need to answer. Why would people join it? What problem are you solving for them? Why are celebrities and influencers on those platforms to begin with? When you can detail out those answers, those answers tell you what you need to do to launch. You have to match the table stakes of existing platforms, which means you need to know not only what tho…
Thanks for your comment! Honestly, I didn’t expect anyone to respond to such a vague post. The reason I’d build this platform is to help people connect without the distractions of sponsored content or random memes. I stopped using Facebook about seven years ago because I wanted a space where I could simply engage with the people in my network and their thoughts. AdBlock helped for a while, but eventually, my feed fil…
It seems like you are going through the same thought process that I went through and led me to work on https://communick.com. Save yourself a world of pain and find something else to work on.
The amount of people who really value their privacy and are willing to pay to avoid getting their data exploited is too low to matter in the context of a social network. I've tried different pricing, I've tried different extra features, I've tried going upmarket, but I never got a critical mass of people to make the whole endeavor sustainable.
On the content creator side, it's even worse. Creators will always prefer to work on platforms that offer them the widest reach. So even when you have privacy enthusiasts or creators who know all the issues from YouTube/Reddit/Instagram, they will still keep a channel there out of fear of not keeping up with "the algorithm".
If you really insist on going mad like me and believe that this is a worthy cause to work on, look at the existing social networks that are based on open source and open standards, like PixelFed [0] and Vernissage [1].
Re: Ask HN: How would you launch a privacy-first, Instagram-like social network?
#25I’ve built a social network that has an influencer -> audience model in order to not rely on advertiser revenue. Im trying to figure out the getting users but now. I’d suggest that the answer is not how to attract celebrities but in the first instance how to attract any users. My platform is novel and interesting and even then it’s not easy.
Interesting. Please share the link to your network.
http://beastie.fi. App links in the menu. It’s likely not what you’re expecting.
Re: Ask HN: How would you launch a privacy-first, Instagram-like social network?
#26Apple photos is my privacy first social network. I have "shared albums" with my families, different friend/hobby groups. There is an activity feed so whenever someone shares a photo I get a notification, can like like, comment. It just has the basic features and works really well. Here's the thing, I pay $40 a month for the icloud bundle. So technically they've monetized it already. I've always wondered if others use it similarly...
Re: Ask HN: How would you launch a privacy-first, Instagram-like social network?
#27Why would you build it? That isn't being snarky, it is the question you need to answer. Why would people join it? What problem are you solving for them? Why are celebrities and influencers on those platforms to begin with? When you can detail out those answers, those answers tell you what you need to do to launch. You have to match the table stakes of existing platforms, which means you need to know not only what tho…
Thanks for your comment! Honestly, I didn’t expect anyone to respond to such a vague post. The reason I’d build this platform is to help people connect without the distractions of sponsored content or random memes. I stopped using Facebook about seven years ago because I wanted a space where I could simply engage with the people in my network and their thoughts. AdBlock helped for a while, but eventually, my feed fil…
You answered "why I'm building it" but not "why you should join".
Re: Ask HN: How would you launch a privacy-first, Instagram-like social network?
#28I'd be more worried about how you're going to pay for it than anything else. If the revenue is not from ads how are you funding it? Especially if it becomes a hit.
I think you'll have a hard time convincing most users to pay for something they can get for "free" elsewhere.
Re: Ask HN: How would you launch a privacy-first, Instagram-like social network?
#29No e-mail/phone number requirement. New uploaders must be vetted by moderators/quarantined. No video support. Use AI to detect if something is a meme then shadowban the post. Design must look like https://www.fotki.com/
No video support ? No meme support ? Why would anyone bother ? I think you didn't read the request completely.
Well, I was asked what I would do, and what I would do is...
Instead of supporting videos and memes and trying to compete with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Tumblr, Bluesky, Mastodon, Reddit and EVEN IMGUR
I'd focus on images and then my only competitor would be Pinterest, and I wouldn't have to deal with all the complexity that comes with supporting video.
Re: Ask HN: How would you launch a privacy-first, Instagram-like social network?
#30As a new service, I think you'll struggle to attract celebrities and influencers. You'd need to have some really compelling reason for them to use the service, and the only compelling reason they'd care about is audience size, which you won't have. If I were attempting this, I'd design and aim the network for a niche audience of some sort and once that's established, begin expanding to wider audiences.
Instagram for Furries!