Cara: Art & Social

Cara is a great platform for not just your stereotypical artists but for anyone who creates! I love how Anti-AI this platform is because it makes me not just feel, but know, that my work is safer posted on here than on other popular apps. It’s also really inspiring to see all the art posted on here! It’s very easy to get around, and I love seeing it grow day by day since more people are moving to Cara. The implemented Glaze feature is really exciting to see. As i’m typing it’s not available, but just the knowledge that the team is working on it is super encouraging. The negative reviews all say the same thing: that it’s slow or there’s some details missing. What they forget is that this isn’t your typical app like Instagram or Twitter where there’s a huge corporation and mass amount of support behind the app and their team. This app is made BY artists, FOR artists! This is more authentic than a lot of apps you have. And its improving every single day! I hope Cara will grow even bigger and one day surpass a lot of other social media because we need to be reminded that real art is made by humans and not by computers. I’m also very proud of the creator since she is actively working against AI and has been in a lawsuit and won over it. If any of the team is reading this, you’re amazing and your hard work is very appreciated🩷

I waited a bit before writing anything but honestly, I am loving Cara. Keep in mind, this app is in BETA, so it is not perfect but each step along the way the team has been transparent and each update is an improvement. As of writing this review you may notice a few things such as slow load times when uploading a post or the occasional error but nothing crazy, especially for something in beta still. The app is a mix of Instagram/Twitter in the way it functions and your profile will have a portfolio/timeline and about me section. The categories when making a portfolio addition are a bit lacking as of right now but each update seems to bring more options. When you get a notification about a comment and click on it, unfortunately it only takes you to the post and not the comment so it is a bit difficult to respond to comments as of right now but I am confident a future update will resolve this as well. Overall, Cara is a breath of fresh air thus far and if you are looking for somewhere to display your art, I highly recommend giving it a try and being patient. I have not only experienced more engagement but seeing nothing but art has been so much better for my mental health. I feel inspired again and it is just so dang nice. I am excited to see where Cara goes as it develops.

OK, so I want to start off this review by saying I totally get that currently Cara is in a beta phase, which I think is probably ideal. And I am really excited about the potential for it as a replacement/alternative to Instagram! however, that being said… I am a figurative artist. I do a lot of work with the body particularly women. I was frustrated to discover that in posting my first Portfolio image onto the site I was told it was NSFW the work in question features a seated nude female that is not doing anything overly sexual, just sitting. after putting stickers over her nipples, I was able to post the image. as a portrait artist working with a female body, it frustrates me that yet another platform, cannot get the difference between over sexual content and a female nipple. Would we flag Botticelli‘s Venus for having an exposed breast? I would urge Cara‘s development team to focus a little attention on whatever program or system they have in place for determining what is appropriate and what is not. if we are determining that Female nipples alone Cause something to be NSFW I fear that a great deal of art that could be presented on the site will be flagged. I know there’s a trend among “the algorithms” to target people presenting female bodies in non-sexual art, and I am very much hoping that Cara can break this trend.