Are you tired of Instagram bombarding you with ads and irrelevant AI content? Do your stunning astro-images get compressed beyond recognition on mainstream social media platforms? Are you fed up with comment sections and news feeds filled with negativity and politics instead of the astrophotography content you actually enjoy?

If you’re looking for a social media app that connects you with fellow astrophotography enthusiasts and allows you to post your images in full resolution – without worrying about your work being stolen – the new Picastro app might just be the answer. It promises to address all the frustrating aspects of traditional social media and describes itself as “an intuitive, distraction-free, beautifully crafted mobile app where you can share, learn, and celebrate the wonders of the universe together.” So, let’s see if Picastro can live up to that promise and whether it’s worth joining…

🌌 What Is Picastro?

Picastro is a social media app exclusively for astrophotography, founded by the Scottish astrophotographer Tom McCrorie. Unlike traditional platforms, Picastro focuses solely on high-resolution space imagery, creating a space for users to share, learn, and appreciate the cosmos in a supportive, ad-free, and algorithm-free environment.

The app allows you to follow other users, view their posts, and engage with the community in a way similar to other social media platforms. You can also create or join groups – called StarCamps – based on shared interests, equipment, or anything else that sparks your curiosity. Additionally, the app hosts community-driven events like “Image of the Week” and “Image of the Month,” where all members can vote.

🚫 What Picastro isn’t

Picastro is a dedicated mobile app, meaning you must download it to access its features; it is not available via web browsers. Currently, there are smartphone and tablet versions but no desktop version, which is expected in a future update.

While the app allows you to upload and view images in full resolution without compression, it is a mobile platform for sharing astro images – it is not designed for long-term image storage.

A free, limited trial version is available, but to unlock all features, you’ll need to subscribe to one of the paid plans.

💰 Pricing Plans

Paying for a social media platform may seem off-putting, especially with free alternatives like Instagram and Facebook. However, those platforms make their money by collecting your personal data and selling it for targeted advertising, flooding you with spam, hate speech, and fake accounts in the process. In contrast, Picastro aims to protect your privacy and provide a cleaner, ad-free experience.

Presently, there are three subscription plans available, which are detailed on Picastro App website:

There is also a free “Picastro Curiosity” plan giving access to a limited version of platform for unlimited time. This is great for checking out Picastro, before committing to a become a paying member. The best bang for the buck is by far the yearly “Picastro Titan” plan for just £4 per month, though. That’s about as much as you pay for a small Cappuccino at Starbucks.

✨ App Features

For a quick overview of what the Picastro app offers, check out the introduction video below:

🔑 Key Features

• High-Resolution Image Sharing: Uploading and viewing images in full resolution works smoothly, allowing you to appreciate the quality of your equipment and the details in each shot. The app prevents downloading and screenshotting, keeping your images secure.
• StarCards: Each image can have a detailed “StarCard” attached, providing information on the equipment used, exposure details, and more. However, entering this data can be tedious, as there are no preformatted entries for common equipment like telescopes, cameras and mounts.
• SetUps: Save and share your astrophotography setups, making it easier to replicate others’ work and learn from their methods. These setups can also help populate the StarCards.
• StarCamps: You can create or join groups (StarCamps) based on specific interests, equipment, or experience levels, making it easy to connect with like-minded users.
• Progress Batches: These NASA-style badges are awarded to actively participating members for reaching milestone posting achievements. They are visible for mambers with a paid plan.
• Chats: The app features a direct messaging function for private conversations between users.
• Filters: There are various filters to narrow down the selection of posts displayed. You can filter by recent posts, target type (e.g., galaxies), or telescope type (e.g., refractors). It’s also possible to filter posts by users you follow. Similarly, the list of users can be filtered, but the only choice is the self-declared level of experience.
• Search: The search function allows you to find specific deep-space targets or equipment via free text, though it is currently the only way to search for these items.

↗️ Desireable improvements

Filters:

1. Unfortunately this function is still limited. Users can be only filtered for their self-declared experience, i.e. beginner, intermediate or experienced.
2. There are more filters for posts, but some, like e.g. northern/southern hemisphere, are not very relevant. On the other hand, you cannot filter a certain telescope, camera or mount model used, or for dedicated targets with their common name or catalogue numbers.

StarCards:

1. Accessing a StarCard requires clicking the three dots on the top-right of a post, which isn’t the most intuitive.
2. If provided, StarCards can contain an amazing amount of information. Unfortunately, it is not possible to filter or search for StarCard entries, like e.g. a certain telescope, mount or camera model.
3. Additionally, there are no pre-formatted choices for equipment, making it time-consuming to fill out the information and increasing the risk of inconsistencies in descriptions. This may become a problem if the developpers ever decide to include StarCards into filters or searches – which they should.

❓️ Questions to the founder Tom McCrorie

Q: Your website states that Picastro is for sharing images of deep-sky objects and space content, and a glance at the gallery confirms that there are mainly deep space images. Are Milky Way nightscapes frowned upon, or even forbidden?

A: Any images relating to astronomy and astrophotography are permitted including widefield MW. We have a good number of milky way images already (Thomas Shiffer, Light-and-Darks) and a few solar, lunar etc. The app is community curated but no one has flagged anything as inappropriate yet. Space art is also allowed, but only hand painted and hand crafted. NO ai is ever allowed.

Q: There’s no clear boundary between astrophotography and general night photography. Nightscapes, moonscapes, cityscapes, sunsets, rainbows – where do you draw the line and is there any moderation on Picastro?

A: Anything related to astronomy is allowed as long as you have taken it using your own equipment, so even an image of a cityscape with a lunar image is allowed. It’s all very relevant to astronomy I think after all.

Q: Unfortunately, I found no way to search for existing StarCamps and thus, no way to join any, except if a user is invited by other members. It can hardly be the idea to found several identically themed StarCamps, because existing ones cannot be found. Did I miss this function?

A: That’s true, you can’t search StarCamps as yet, but this feature will be coming soon. You can create your own star camps from to include and invite people you follow. You may be eventually added to Starcamps as you use the app more and more people see your images.

Q: When thinking of paid astrophotography platforms, Astrobin comes to mind. How does Picastro compare to Astrobin, and why should someone who already subscribes to Astrobin consider joining Picastro?

A: Astrobin is pitched at being a web based archival scientific image facility with a little bit of social behind it. Picastro is true social media app and a much more user friendly, community driven place to share hi res images of space and more. Its focus is more on the art and science as opposed to the pure sicence. Users of Picastro love it for its simplicity and ease of use.

Q: Anything else you would like to tell my readers?

A: I created Picastro because I couldn’t find a mobile-friendly, welcoming space to share my astrophotography journey. Traditional social media felt toxic, and platforms like Astrobin just didn’t work well on mobile—they felt clunky and uninviting and alienating to beginners. So I built my own. Picastro is a dedicated platform for sharing high-resolution space images, free from the noise and negativity of other networks. It quickly resonated with others who wanted the same thing: a positive, purpose-built space for astrophotographers of all levels. Today, the community is growing every day, and we’re constantly adding new features to make Picastro even better. Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned imager, there’s a place for you here..

✅ Final Verdict

Picastro distinguishes itself as a niche platform tailored to astrophotographers, offering a unique mix of high-quality image sharing, community engagement, and educational tools. It’s a great space for connecting with others who share your passion for the cosmos. However, if your main goal is to build a huge following of non-astrophotographers or to sell your images, workshops, or tutorials, Picastro may not be the right platform for you. It’s all about fostering a community.

That being said, Picastro’s success depends on active engagement from its users. At the moment, the user base is still small, which is unfortunate because whether you’re a seasoned astrophotographer or just starting, Picastro offers an ideal space to share, learn, and showcase your work without the distractions of mainstream social media.

So, is Picastro worth the price? If you’re looking for a platform to make money or gain fame, it certainy is not the best choice. However, if you find even one like-minded friend through the app, it will be invaluable. Think of it like supporting a Kickstarter campaign – by paying the relatively modest annual fee and engaging with the platform, you help ensure its success.

As a reward for reading my review to the end, and to help you decide to join Picastro, Tom McCrorie has generously offerd the following promo code that grants a generous 15% discount to all my readers. Just enter RALFROHNER15 at checkout.