Grain Is the AT Protocol’s Instagram Alternative

Earlier this month, I wrote about several blogging platforms that are part of the so-called Atmosphere, an ecosystem of apps made possible by the AT Protocol. However, blogging isn’t the only sort of publishing that’s possible via the Atmosphere. Originally launched last year, Grain is a photo-first social media platform built and developed by Chad Miller.

Instagram is the most obvious point of comparison, and at first glance, the two platforms seem pretty similar in terms of layout and function. Grain’s UI is far cleaner and simpler, though, and free of ads and “recommended” posts. Grain does offer a “For You” feed that’s presumably algorithmic, but it’s not the default. (That would be a chronological listing, as God intended.) Grain only allows photos in posts, so no videos or reels. You can share stories that exist for 24 hours, but those are photo-only, as well. And I’m sure photographers will appreciate that Grain displays EXIF data (e.g., the camera type and settings used to take a photo).

Grain posts can contain up to 10 photos, along with a title and description. You can mention other users, include hashtags, specify content warnings, and if you’ve signed in with a Bluesky account, whether or not your post should be shared to your Bluesky profile. All of which is pretty standard, expected stuff. But one thing that I really like about Grain is that you can include links in post descriptions (example).

As part of their efforts to keep you on their platform as long as possible, Instagram doesn’t allow links in posts; you can only add them to your profile, and that can only be done via the Instagram app. (Instagram is reportedly testing the inclusion of links in posts, but only for users who’ve paid for a “Meta Verified” badge, and even then, they’ll be limited to a max of 10 links/month.) Link support seems like a trivial thing, but it’s in keeping with the open nature of Bluesky and the AT Protocol, and I appreciate that.

I’ve been using Grain for only a few days now, but I like it (view my profile). I don’t expect it to supplant Instagram as people’s photo-sharing platform of choice, or even to become a serious challenger in terms of popularity. (As of last September, Instagram has 3 billion monthly active users.) But I like that platforms like Grain exist via the AT Protocol, platforms that give people who are tired of the current ad and algorithm-saturated social media landscape a viable alternative.