Show HN: Photos by Strangers (reviving an old, self-coded project)

Today I make my 5 year old project finally public: https://serendi.pt/. A platform which helps you find candid photos of yourself, possibly taken by strangers. I had hand-coded this site back in 2020 but never ended up “launching” it then - revived it recently with a little help from my coding agents.

Often, we take really good photos of strangers, accidentally. Think of the times you've been at a tourist location and captured a beautiful sunset with strangers providing the perfect contrast. They never knew about this shot that could have been one of their personal favorites. Serendipity helps you find those accidental moments.

How it works:

Normal User 1. Find your photo (location / event / time) 2. Download the original 3. Optionally tip the uploader

Uploader 1. Upload a photo tagging location, event, time 2. Photos should not be selfies or invade privacy 3. Get tipped if someone downloads your photo

Privacy: This is a hobby website made and maintained by two individuals, so we rely on the user’s and the community’s cooperation in keeping the content of the website in adherence to the Terms of the website. We also do have features to let users Report sensitive content, which is then surfaced in an internal, simple Moderation dashboard. Apart from the user’s email address, we do not collect any personal data nor do we intend to. We hope the idea will resonate with some people. We definitely look for any kind of feedback: serendipt[dot]contact[at]gmail