Pixelfed

Pixelfed is an open-source, federated image sharing platform that forms part of the Fediverse. It is designed to be self-hostable, allowing individuals or organizations to run their own instances and connect with others through the ActivityPub protocol, enabling cross-instance interactions with compatible services such as Mastodon and Pleroma.

Users create accounts, upload photos with captions, and interact through likes, comments, and reposts. Posts can be discoverable via hashtags or through timelines that show content from the local instance and from federated networks. Privacy and moderation controls are provided to instance administrators and users, with settings for visibility, blocking, and content policies.

Pixelfed emphasizes openness and user control; as an open-source project, its codebase is developed by a community of volunteers and can be reviewed or extended by anyone. Public instances exist alongside the option for private deployment, making it a flexible option for individuals, communities, and organizations seeking a decentralized photo-sharing experience.

Compared to centralized photo services, Pixelfed's federation via ActivityPub allows users on different servers to follow each other, like, and comment across instance boundaries, fostering an interconnected network of image sharing within the Fediverse.