Hipstamatic Is Back in the Hopes You Hate Instagram

Iphone users have access to what’s being pegged by some an “anti-Instagram app.” Hipstamatic relaunched its social network for iPhone users on Wednesday, offering a place to simply share photos without all the filters, short-form videos, and clawing for followers.

Hipstamatic was first launched back in 2009 and while it saw some success, it was unable to grasp the popularity and momentum Instagram eventually did. After years of trying to make a comeback, it seems the company is now hoping those disenfranchised with what Instagram has become, will jump ship for something a lot more basic.

Hipsamatic doesn’t allow video uploads or enhancing filters like the established Instagram. Instead, the company says it wants to focus on the nostalgia of the 1980s through Y2K as more Gen Zers gravitate toward flip phones, vinyl albums, and old-school grainy photographs.

The app advertises itself as the return of the “original point-and-shoot analog camera,” on its site, adding, “Experience the retro camera that changed iPhone photography forever. Hipstamatic brings all the joy, quirk, and randomness of film photography to your pocket.” The app not only won’t allow uploaded videos, but it also doesn’t have an algorithmic feed, meaning instead of seeing popular ranked photos or photos based on past views, the content is chronological. Hipstamatic attempts to remove influencer content by allowing users to only follow up to 99 people, with nine designated as “close friends.”

Hipstamatic was first brought to life over a decade ago when Lucas Buick and Ryan Dorshorst’s design studio, Synthetic, was failing. With no way to pay the bills, Buick and Dorshorst started brainstorming.

“We thought, ‘What can we make with two guys and no money?’ The answer was an iPhone app,” Buick told Inc.com in 2016. They first thought of creating a weather app, but Buick said, “We scrapped that quickly because I was like, would I even buy this? The answer was no.”

Instead, the pair decided to create a phone app designated solely for photos, taking the direction of a more authentic experience rather than one filled with enhancement filters. The app allows users to upload photos as they would have looked if taken from an 1889 camera, as well as hundreds of other filters which are meant to stand out rather than polish the user’s appearance.

“Hipstamatic filters are very heavy compared with the rest of the market,” Buick told TechCrunch. “Hipstamatic filters do some crazy stuff, even from a technical standpoint.”

The app comes at a time when there is a generational shift toward old and nostalgic technology, and speaking about the transition back in time, Buick told the outlet, “Hipstamatic makes sense again. … Kids are buying iPhone 3Gs to have better photo experiences in some weird, twisted world of TikTok.” He added, “All of a sudden, a lot of things that we’ve built over the last decade have started to make sense again. That’s sort of where we’re at now.”

Hipstamatic did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.

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