Step aside, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. There’s a new social media platform on the scene, and it’s a lot more authentic.
Called BeReal, the platform asks users to post unfiltered photos of themselves once a day to unlock the one-a-day photos of others. In other words, it doesn’t allow for lurking – you have to post yourself to see other people’s posts.
“BeReal won’t make you waste time,” reads the app’s description on the app store. “BeReal will challenge your creativity. BeReal won’t make you famous. If you want to become an influencer, you can stay on TikTok and Instagram.”
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At different times every day, users are alerted through a push notification that they have two minutes to take and post both a selfie and a photo of what’s in front of them. The photo is taken using the BeReal camera, which automatically snaps both at the same time, though you can’t see them on your phone beforehand.
Your post will then be shared with your friends on the app who would’ve taken theirs at the same time too. You can post after two minutes, but the app will mark it as ‘late’, even marking how long after the prompt it was posted. The idea is that the app encourages people to “show your friends who you really are, for once”, according to its description.
Instead of reacting to other people’s post with a ‘heart’ or ‘thumbs up’ in the app, you use ‘realmojis’, which is a live selfie showing your actual facial reaction. You can also add a caption to your own post after it’s up, which others can comment on.
Interestingly, BeReal has been around since 2020, but has only become popular in the last few months, with trending news site Social Media Today noting that downloads of the app rose by 315% since the start of this year, and that it’s currently the fourth most downloaded app after Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest.
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