Insta-who? The First-Ever Photo Editing App Is Back

Back when Kelvin was just another way of measuring temperature and Valencia was somewhere you wanted to go on spring break, the first photo-editing app, Hipstamatic, was not only the clear choice for photo editing—it was the only one.

Ten years ago, in the pre-Instagram era (from here on known as "B.I.," or "Before Instagram"), photo editing was something only graphic designers and the super artsy girl on your block did. That is, until the app Hipstamatic allowed anyone with a smartphone to fiddle with the colors, brightness, exposure and fade settings on their snaps, all with the tap of a thumb. It was one of the first apps ever, and the first photo-editing app. Period.

Now the nostalgia is really real, because Hipstamatic is relaunching in honor of its tenth anniversary, and letting users edit their photos the old-school way. 

Think of it as the anti-'Gram: superrrrr analog settings, like different antique camera options (from disposable to tintype) that change the way your photo looks. Zero social media connectivity options (this app is purely editing) and retro settings like lenses and point-and-shoot camera settings that do all the editing legwork for you.

"The ‘fun’ of photography has really been drained over the years as we all worry about perfection," the app's co-founder Lucas Buick said in a press release. "The brilliance of a point-and-shoot is that it captures a moment in time and as the photographer you are free to continue to experience those moments without stopping to edit and share."

Intrigued? The new app, called Hipstamatic X, which is completely free, launches October 1, so be sure to bookmark the App Store page now.

Or print out this article and add the date to your paper agenda. It's what the app would want.