It’s super ironic because just minutes ago I was thinking about building a similar app for myself (pictures only, no TikTok style content). That’s when I went on HackerNews to search to see if anyone’s already built, or at least a self hosted Instagram. Lo and behold, this HN post is just hours old.

It’s almost like FB is getting so aggressive to bring back revenue that it doesn’t care it’s backfiring, fast. I want to say that recent algorithmic changes or experiments is making the Instagram experience so unenjoyable these days. It’s been noticeably unpleasant this month where I quickly snap out of the hypnosis and realizing I don’t like any of the content. Before at least there was a few delightful and original content here or there.

I was just hoping to journal / log my daily memories. Pictures are easier than words. I created a new Instagram account hours ago to this end. Was planning for it to be anti-social … not using it as platform for popularity or show off how great my life is. Then Instagram’s brilliant ML / AI kicked in and asked me to upload a selfie holding up a handwritten security code for confirmation.

Being the programmer that I am, my knee jerk reaction is that I might as well build and self-host my own.