The internet moves fast, and social media apps are trying to keep up with users’ growing wants, needs, likes, and dislikes.
Sometimes, apps will introduce updates that users have been waiting for, like WhatsApp’s new privacy features.
Other times, social media companies will make updates that no one really asked for, like Instagram’s new “Notes” feature.
But since Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok’s inception, there hasn’t been a new social media app that rivals the big four in North America — until now.
The app is called BeReal, and it has taken over many phone screens over the past few months.
Founded by French developer Alexis Barreyat in January 2020, BeReal’s function is in its name. The app encourages people to “be real” by prompting users to share candid photos.
How does it work?
Every day at a random time (that differs day to day), the app sends out a push notification to all of its users simultaneously, prompting people to capture and share a photo in two minutes.
“A new and unique way to discover who your friends really are in their daily life,” explains the site.
The difference between this and a photo you can share on Snapchat or to your Instagram story? The camera takes a selfie and also takes a photo of what you’re looking at (Instagram is reportedly trying to copy this feature).
And due to the random nature of the notifications, you could really be doing anything and have to capture the moment. You could be in bed, doing work, or doing nothing necessarily “post worthy.”
the BeReal notification loves to show up during the most boring lame uninteresting part of my day
— maliha (@mallliha) August 1, 2022
Or you could be trying to put out a kitchen fire like this unfortunate soul.
“yeah download bereal its fun to see what people are up to!”
the things people are up to: pic.twitter.com/uDGr703gzJ
— scraniel (@mfscraniel) July 15, 2022
Miss the notification right when it comes out? Not to worry. You can still snap a pic that’ll be marked as “late.” You also can’t view your friends’ posts until you’ve posted your own BeReal.
Your feed will look something like this with a “My Friends” and “Discovery” tab.
Under the friends tab, you’re only able to see posts from the people you follow and who follow you back.
The “Discovery” tab is a bit like the wild west of BeReal — you can see people’s photos from anywhere around the world.
A majority of them are normal, but there are also plenty of chaotic posts, so venture with caution.
Luckily, your BeReal is private by default and only visible to your friends, unless you want it added to the pile under the “Discovery” tab. To do so, just make sure to click the public option before you upload your post.
Probably the most fun aspect of BeReal is being able to react to your friend’s post with your face!
The app calls these “RealMojis,” and you can snap a photo of your face that represents each emoji.
And just like most photo-sharing apps, you can add a caption to your post, and people can comment.
Everyone’s obsessed
Even though BeReal has existed for about two years now, it only gained popularity earlier this year when young people (mostly Gen Z) began posting about the app on TikTok.
BeReal is currently in the top three free apps in the iOS App Store. The Verge reported that its total downloads are at an estimated 29.5 million.
Users are taking to Twitter to share their love for the app.
Many like it for its simplicity.
truly obsessed with BeReal. love seeing who’s living with bare walls in their apartment. love that i only have 30 friends on there so i’m done scrolling for the day in less than two minutes. love that sometimes i go to post and the app is like “nah.” perfect platform no notes
— james (on hiatus) (@jamesholod) August 4, 2022
The app reminds others of the early, ad-free days of Instagram.
Using BeReal reminds me of how I felt using Instagram for the first time, when it was just friends posting photos
— Andrew Sibert (@drewsibert) August 8, 2022
So much so, that this person says BeReal is better than Instagram.
Hot take
BeReal>Instagram— Yama (@hirayamadrew) August 6, 2022
Want to “be real”? The app is available for free on iOS and Android.