With enough apps to kill your phone’s storage, it’s only natural that you may well be hesitant to download yet another one. However, Be Real is a new social media app that you might want to consider downloading for its empowering and liberating twist. It’s currently ranking number 1 app in the Social Networking category in several countries, including UK but how has this one app managed to single-handlingly compete and be on a mission to topple the Facebooks, TikToks, and Twitters of the world?
The picture-based app is garnering attention for breaking down social media’s obsession with perfectionism and rewriting the rules on posting content that’s not authentic. The format is similar to Snapchat, but there’s no editing, no do-overs (if you do, the app will warn other users, flagging exactly how many re-takes it took). The app prompts you at random times of the day to take a quick snap using both your front and back camera simultaneously, posting within a two-minute window of the notification to allow friends to see what you’re doing in real-time. If you post outside of the allocated two minutes (therefore allowing time for editing or a quick tidy up of your surroundings), users will be notified that the post isn’t a true representation of your life at that moment.
Described as “a new and unique way to discover who your friends really are in their daily life”, the app forgoes any social media trickery and makes it impossible to showcase a highlight reel of your life in favour of real, relatable moments that let the world know who you actually are (if you choose to share, of course).
The best part is, you’ll start to realise you’re not the only one who doesn’t look and feel amazing all the time and that everyone has parts of their day that are far from glitz and glam. It may sound like an obvious concept to point out but it’s very easy to get lost in the fallacy of social media when more often than not the users’ lives you envy are probably just as complicated or as mundane as your own. The only difference is they may be a little bit better at editing their pictures or remembering to capture cool content.
Other features in the app include allowing your followers to interact with your photo of the day, not through a like button but with photoreactions. You can see who’s screenshotted and you can compile a memory file of all the photos you uploaded for any given timeline. Sounds like the most chaotic photo album of dreams. Plus, much like Snapchat or Instagram, you can set your account to a ‘discovery mode’ which means your Be Real is set to public and anyone with the app can see your snapshot of the day.
Users on Twitter are starting to get into it with one saying: “The @BeReal_App is fucking fire. I joined 16 days ago. I have deepened friendships. I have made new friends. This is so great”
