How a guy from Kyrgyzstan created an alternative to Instagram — a social network without likes

Yusuf Raimjonov, developer, founder of Benkishot, Instagram

How it all started

I was active on almost all social networks, and at some point, I caught myself thinking that they had become very similar to each other. They all have the same bottom tabs, identical buttons, and numerous icons overlaid directly on top of the photo. Yet, most people don’t use most of these buttons — they just take up space and interfere with viewing the actual frame.

You take a photo, post it, and the feed crops it into a small format. When you open the photo in full view, you see the username at the top, the caption at the bottom, and buttons on the side.

I started looking for an app where everything was organized differently, but I couldn’t find one. So, I decided to build it myself. The idea was simple: a photo or video should take up the entire screen, with nothing overlaid on the frame itself.

Launching the startup

Initially, the app was called Retina. I liked the name. Then I learned that Retina is a registered trademark of Apple, and an app with that name might not pass review in the App Store. I didn’t want to risk it during my own release.

For several months afterward, the app existed without a name. I wrote code, designed screens, but the app had no name.

I went through various options, but either they were already taken, or they sounded awkward to say even to myself. Then the deadline for submitting the app for review arrived, and there was no time to delay further.

In the end, I created the name from two Tajik words: “ben” — “look” and “kishot” — “wide.” Benkishot means “look wider.”

And suddenly, everything clicked. An app where the frame takes up the entire screen literally invites you to look wider. The name hit the nail on the head. I didn’t even need to come up with a slogan — it was already embedded in the name.

Compound names have been a long-standing tradition in this industry. Instagram is a combination of instant camera and telegram, Pinterest — of pin and interest. It turns out I followed the same formula, just using Tajik words.

How the app works

Benkishot has seven main screens, between which you can navigate by swiping left or right. There are no tabs or large numbers of nested menus — everything is on one level.

Even the navigation panel isn’t always visible on the screen. If you press and hold your finger, it appears semi-transparently, in the Liquid Glass style of the latest iOS versions. Once you’ve navigated to where you need to go, the panel disappears again.

The main feed is called “Lens.” One post takes up the entire screen: swipe up, and the next one appears. Nothing is cropped; photos and videos are displayed exactly as they were captured.

However, the order of posts in the feed depends not on how frequently they are published, but on the quality of the work itself.

There is also Discover — a section for finding new content. Here, posts are displayed in tiles of varying sizes, and fresh content that quickly gains traction rises to the top.

The “Subscriptions” section contains only posts from people the user follows. Recommendations are not mixed in.

There is also “Create” — the camera and content upload feature, “Activity” — subscriptions, comments, and replies, and “Messages” — standard text messaging, voice messages, photos, and reactions.

Why there are no likes in Benkishot

There are no likes in Benkishot. And it’s not because I simply didn’t have time to implement them.

Usually, everything works like this: a counter appears under the post, and over time, people start creating content specifically for that counter. They post what they think will perform well, choose the right time to publish, and may delete posts that don’t receive enough engagement.

I wanted to remove this mechanic. Let people post content simply because they like it.

At the same time, the ability to receive feedback remains. The app has comments, replies, and direct messages.

How Benkishot differs from Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat

I don’t intend to compare the scale of my product with companies that employ thousands of people. But Benkishot takes a different approach, and there are features these platforms simply don’t have.

Let’s start with the frame itself. In Instagram, photos in the feed are cropped to fit the platform’s format. In Benkishot, photos are displayed exactly as they were taken.

TikTok also uses a full-screen video format, but many elements remain overlaid on top: buttons on the right, captions, stickers, and scrolling text. In Benkishot, nothing is overlaid on the frame itself.

Another fundamental difference is the absence of likes. For Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, the reaction counter is one of the core mechanics of the product. In Benkishot, it simply doesn’t exist.

There are also two formats that these platforms don’t offer.

The first is articles. These are full-text pages with layouts and backgrounds. In Instagram and TikTok, you can place text on a colored background, but it remains a post or caption, not a separate page.

The second is “Announcement.” This is a styled page in the profile where users can tell about themselves and what they offer. There are ready-made templates for different types of activities.

Another feature is the live cover. In Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, profiles don’t greet users with a video that fills the entire header.

But perhaps the most important difference relates to the logic of the feed itself. Major social networks are designed so that users post content more frequently and stay in the app longer. Algorithms actively promote the most active creators.

Benkishot is built around the quality of the work itself. You can post one frame per week and still end up at the top.

Plans

Currently, Benkishot works only on iPhone. It requires iOS 18 or a newer version. An Android version is planned.

At present, the app is available in four countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

From day one, the app has worked in 16 languages, including Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, and Uzbek. This is quite rare for our region. Usually, localization into these languages is added last, if at all.

The plans are simple: first, we want to grow in these four countries, refine Discover, and improve tools for creators.

After that, we plan to enter the global market.