Skylight, a decentralized short-form video app built on the AT Protocol, is now live on iOS, with an Android beta available on Google Play. Backed by Mark Cuban and the Graham & Walker Venture Fund, the app offers familiar TikTok-style features — editing tools, likes, comments, shares, and user profiles — but with a key difference: interoperability. Posts created in Skylight can be viewed and engaged with across ATProto-based platforms, including Bluesky and Flashes.
More importantly, by leveraging the AT Protocol, Skylight is nearly impossible to ban or shut down — a significant advantage as regulators around the world scrutinize centralized platforms.
Founders Tori White and Reed Harmeyer were motivated by the potential TikTok ban in the US. White, a former influencer, had archived her content and recognized the need for a more resilient platform. She used her TikTok account (@buildwithtori) to document Skylight’s development, generating awareness and attracting a base of early adopters.
Skylight currently supports videos up to three minutes long and has a roadmap that includes duets, stitches, playlists, and customizable feeds.
This is not just another TikTok clone. Skylight is the first short-form video app to integrate directly with Bluesky’s 33.8 million-user network, offering creators the ability to publish content across a decentralized, interoperable ecosystem. As Meta, YouTube, and TikTok continue to expand their closed networks, Skylight represents a different architectural vision. Whether it gains traction remains to be seen, but the timing, protocol, and positioning reflect a growing demand for open, creator-first platforms.
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P.S. I'll be doing a fireside chat with Mark at my Shelly Palmer Innovation Series VIP Breakfast presented by 3C Ventures at POSSIBLE (April 30 | Miami). Register here.
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.
