Lyrak: Can it replace your Insta habit?

Lyrak is a new photo-sharing app. Unlike Instagram, Lyrak does not have incessant ads and videos. Also, no data collection or AI training of your photos. Can it replace your Insta habit?

Lyrak is a photo-sharing app

Rishi Siva, founder of Lyrak, contacted us recently. He described Lyrak like this:

We’ve created a space that celebrates still photography in an era where major platforms have shifted towards short-form video content. Lyrak aims to bring back the magic of dedicated photo-sharing, with some key features that set us apart:

1. Exclusively for still images – no videos
2. 50% ad revenue share with photographers
3. Multiple monetization options within the app (tips, freelance work, subscriptions, licensing, bookings, print sales)
4. Customizable feeds based on interests and favorite creators
5. No use of photographers’ work for AI training
6. Connecting photographers with art enthusiasts and potential clients

Rishi Siva/Lyrak photo-sharing app

Siva’s description sounded good. I figured I would kick the tires on Lyrak.

My experience with Lyrak

I first noted that the app had white space. So much white space. Compared to Vero, Cara, Plates, or yes, even Instagram, this was a big surprise. I don’t really prefer lots of white on any apps, certainly not photo apps. I was surprised later when I couldn’t change this or any other configuration.

The Flickr app has lots of white. I don’t particularly like that either, but I doubt anyone has ever used Flickr because they love the way it looks.

You will connect! You will connect!

When you join, Lyrak makes you connect with other people immediately. It doesn’t matter whether you know them or not. The list is short. I don’t remember how many photographers there were. Maybe 30? If you want to continue using the app, you must connect with five of them.

I’m not a huge “you MUST connect with these people” fan. However, I also like to be a team player. After all, Lyrak is trying to get us to connect and form communities, and I do like that concept.

I “liked” numerous people’s photos. I left comments. So far, no reaction. Oh, well. Perhaps we need more people for this to take root.

How do the photos look on Lyrak?

Good. They upload relatively quickly, and the resolution looks fine on my phone. You can squeeze and expand them, unlike Instagram, and they look good on an iPhone 14 Pro, which has a good quality screen. This is all assuming that you don’t mind a white background, of course.

And yes, no ads. No short-form videos. Actually, no videos of any sort. Nice.

Limitations and more…

500 characters

I figured I would fill in my bio. I cut and pasted this, only to find that less than half of it fit. There was a 500-character limit. Ruh-roh.

It turns out that there’s a 500-character limit everywhere. Bio, captions for the photo, and comments. Only 500 characters like Threads. Lyrak is not an app that wants you to go into detail about your photo. Or anything else. I have a short description of how I do light painting, and even that didn’t fit in 500 characters.

For an app that wants you to form communities and tip other photographers, limiting the amount of words seems like an odd thing to do.

Also, you can’t edit your comments or your photo captions after you post them. That’s right. You can’t correct your grammar, spelling, or add more to it. That’s it.

The lone hashtag that could not go

When you post your photo, there is a sub-heading for hashtag. In other words, you can’t cut and paste your hashtag into the main body of the caption to save time.

I typed in #nightphotography. That was it. I couldn’t type another hashtag.

Even worse, that one hashtag didn’t work. I tried other people’s hashtags. Those didn’t work either. Maybe there’s no one else using those hashtags?

That’s not all that doesn’t work…

Lyrak offers a provision to type in a single website into your profile. However, when you click on it, you get an error message. I tried several different websites on different days, all with the same result.

They have a website…but it only does one thing

I was excited to discover that they had a website. Perhaps I could use it as a website, similar to Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, and others. But alas, no. I logged in, only to discover that the only function at present is to add credit to my account.

Can you upload photos? Change your profile? See or comment on other people’s photos? Add new contacts? Tip other people? The answer to all of that and more is no.

What I like

Any of you who have read my reviews and articles over the years know that I am overwhelmingly positive. I try to encourage people to learn light painting and night photography. I try to inspire photographers to be creative. My reviews are generally positive because, after all, I choose items that I think I would like and be good. Thankfully, the product typically succeeds.

So I initially told the editors that I wouldn’t be the best person for writing about Lyrak. But they mentioned that not all articles can be glowing articles. So here I am.

• The photos upload quickly and look good.
• There are no ads or videos, placing the emphasis back on still photos.
• There is no AI training on photos.
• Offering opportunities to try to connect with others is noble.
• The monetization functions are interesting although I didn’t use any of them, but the potential is there.
• The gender defaults to “Prefer not to say” rather than forcing you into a choice. It offers Male, Female, and then a Custom field where you simply fill in the blank.

What I don’t like

Lyrak feels like an app that has good ideas and intentions. However, there are a number of items that I dislike.

• It has a white background. I find this too bright and less flattering for many photos. Also, there is no provision to change this.
• There is a 500-character limitation everywhere. I like to tell about the location, photographic process, joke, and more, and that limit makes it challenging at best.
• You cannot edit your captions or comments after you post them.
• There is only one hashtag. You cannot cut and paste this into your caption.
• The hashtag doesn’t seem to work. I’ve tried several hashtags in multiple places, including with other people’s hashtags. None of them work so far.
• Their website only allows you to upload money.

I also don’t like that there’s no activity. As I mentioned, I connected with five people. I looked at lots of photos. None of them had comments, and very few of them except for Rishi’s had any “likes”. Now, two people’s photos looked like they had one comment, but when I clicked on the photo to try and see them, I could not. Is this another issue? I don’t know. Now, I can’t blame this on Lyrak. That’s up to the people in the community. But still, it feels odd, almost as if I’ve walked into a large art gallery, lights on bright, but no one around and nothing to hear but my echoing footsteps.

While the creators of Lyrak seem to have great intentions, I can’t help but wonder whether this app should come with an “Under Construction” warning. I wish them good luck in their endeavors regardless.

Lyrak is available in the Apple Store and Google Play. I’ve linked Google Play to the Lyrak website because the link currently goes to an Android Early Access form, which I’m sure won’t be there for long.