The latest articles on DEV Community by Manish Saini (@manishsainidev). https://dev.to/manishsainidev https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4220384%2Ff193c4b4-4012-4111-9b35-f63507c20968.png https://dev.to/manishsainidev en Manish Saini Sun, 01 Nov 2026 10:24:52 +0000 https://dev.to/manishsainidev/i-built-manix-social-a-lightweight-photo-reels-and-chat-app-for-budget-android-phones-384a https://dev.to/manishsainidev/i-built-manix-social-a-lightweight-photo-reels-and-chat-app-for-budget-android-phones-384a <p>Hi DEV! I'm Manish Saini, a solo developer from India. I'm sharing a project I recently released: <strong>MΛNIX Social</strong> (MANIX Social), a free social app for Android and the web.</p> <h2> Why I made it </h2> <p>A lot of people around me use cheap Android phones with limited storage and patchy mobile data. The big social apps are huge downloads and heavy to run. I wanted something small that still does the everyday things: post photos, watch short videos and chat with friends.</p> <h2> What it does </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Feed</strong>: post photos, videos and carousels (up to 10 at once). Following and For You tabs.</li> <li> <strong>Reels</strong>: short vertical videos with likes, comments and sharing.</li> <li> <strong>Stories</strong>: photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours.</li> <li> <strong>Messages</strong>: private one-to-one chat with text, photos and shared posts.</li> <li> <strong>Camera and filters</strong>: in-app camera, 7 filters, skin smoothing, brightness/contrast/warmth, crop and rotate, and drafts saved on the phone.</li> <li> <strong>Explore</strong>: search for people, posts and #hashtags.</li> <li> <strong>Privacy controls</strong>: private account, who can message or comment, block and report.</li> </ul> <h2> How it's built (short version) </h2> <p>MANIX is a web app first, so it works in any browser. The Android app is a small wrapper around the same web app, which keeps the APK at about 5 MB and lets updates reach everyone without a new install. Minimum Android version is 7.0.</p> <h2> Honest notes </h2> <ul> <li>It's free. There is one small banner ad in the app, which is how I keep it free. No in-app purchases.</li> <li>It's not on Google Play yet. You install the APK from the official website, so Android will show the usual "install unknown apps" prompt.</li> <li>It's early: the community is small, so you'll see mostly new accounts.</li> <li>For ages 13 and up.</li> </ul> <h2> Try it </h2> <ul> <li>Website / web app: <a href="https://manix-social.sites.tab.bot" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://manix-social.sites.tab.bot</a> </li> <li>Android APK: <a href="https://manix-social.sites.tab.bot/download" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://manix-social.sites.tab.bot/download</a> </li> <li>Privacy policy: <a href="https://manix-social.sites.tab.bot/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://manix-social.sites.tab.bot/privacy</a> </li> </ul> <p>I'd really like feedback, especially on speed on low-end phones and anything that feels confusing during signup. Thanks for reading!</p> android showdev webdev sideprojects