A French social media platform launched by Alexis Barreyat in 2020, BeReal recently reached the top of the free download charts on iOS, surpassing TikTok. The app initially gained popularity overseas, then attracted dedicated posters on US college campuses. Americans are now its primary user base. BeReal’s recent surge in downloads can be partially attributed to a string of viral TikToks referencing the social media app.
BeReal sends users a prompt at a random time each day, urging them to snap a picture and send it to their friends. You only have two minutes to respond, and a two-image collage is captured from your front and back cameras.
The pristine, curated Instagram aesthetic has been declared dead multiple times, and BeReal capitalizes on a continuing quest for authenticity on social media, whatever that means. The company has received millions of dollars from investors like Andreessen Horowitz, a prominent player in Silicon Valley that has thrown cash at Clubhouse, OpenSea, and Substack in recent years.
In February, Harvard student Mariah Norman declared photo dumps on Instagram a passé endeavor so mainstream that the president does it. She was enamored by the unfiltered feed on BeReal and wrote, “Because there’s no time to find that perfect pose or background, the content you engage with on the app is charmingly mundane yet extraordinarily authentic and creative.” Norman also mentioned that BeReal sponsored a party with free admission for Harvard students who interacted with the app.
Jules Kourelakos, a student at Duke University, pointed out that while BeReal appears less performative than other social media options, users continue to capture a posed version of themselves. While the search for authenticity online may be a fruitless one, the app is well-designed and easy to pick up.
You need an account to get started on BeReal, which is available for iPhone and Android. Once you've downloaded the app, it will request access to your contacts to connect with friends who may use the service already (you can decline, if you wish). Unless your Rolodex is full of trendsetters, many of your friends may not use the platform yet. The app will ask for your name, birthday, and phone number. Leaving time-sensitive notifications on is crucial if you aim to post within the daily two minutes.
While setting up an account, BeReal nudges new users to snap their first post on the spot. Your post each day is the toll to view friends’ posts on the discovery feed. Don’t feel like posting? Well, you’ll have to spend time on a different app, because everyone’s photos will be inaccessible on BeReal until you make a contribution for the day. Users are allowed to share time-stamped photos after the window has passed, but all images are treated like tardy homework with a “15 minutes late” disclaimer emblazoned across the top.
To create a post, the app needs access to your smartphone cameras. After flipping the camera around to see both sides with the reverse button and turning on the flash, if necessary, by tapping the lightning bolt, press the circle in the bottom middle of the screen to capture your photos. Even for late BeReals, a two-minute timer is onscreen and counting down as you take (or retake) pictures.
You get to decide whether a post is shared on the global feed or to only your friends. Your geolocation will be included with the post unless you toggle it off. Users are able to delete a post after sharing, but just one deletion is allowed per day. Once the post is live, you can add a caption.
Your friends can comment and leave RealMojis on your BeReals; strangers on the discovery feed are confined to RealMojis. Unlike TikTok or Instagram, content is wiped from the feed every day and replaced by the next batch of posts. Users have the option to save past posts using the Memories features, and old images are not public.
I turned my location off for privacy reasons and encourage everyone who tries BeReal to avoid publishing potentially sensitive content, especially if you have the settings open to the public. Casual snaps still have the potential to jeopardize your privacy.
On BeReal, what could easily become an anxiety-inducing race against the clock is skillfully contoured into a low-stakes posting experience. For example, only so many retakes are feasible within 120 seconds, so I felt less internal pressure to catch a flattering selfie.
Most of the photos I captured during my week of testing incorporated some kind of screen. BeReal caught me streaming a classic episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, reading about electric vehicle batteries on a laptop, playing Pikmin 3 Deluxe, and working from home on this article. A few users were out and about as I scrolled through the discovery feed, dining with family members or hiding in the back room at work. Various people were staring into screens like me: studying on a MacBook, playing Fortnite, looking up directions on an iPhone, watching Netflix in bed, listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
BeReal is currently doing a full-court press on college campuses. The company employs marketer Emily Moravits, who previously helped lead the student ambassador program for dating app Bumble. The goal is for on-the-ground events, strategically located in university towns, to ignite a young, engaged user base for the app in North America that then spreads to a wider audience.
Buzz continues to grow, although BeReal has yet to prove its staying power. When attending the University of Kansas, I went to a boozy party for a hot, alternative social media platform, wandering home with multiple branded koozies and a new app on my phone. Yik Yak, which let people read anonymous posts from nearby users, shut down a few years later amid waves of controversy. A zombie version of the app relaunched in 2021.
Where Yik Yak oozes toxicity, BeReal feels like a safe haven, at least for the time being. If you convince a couple of friends to participate, the app can be off-the-cuff fun. BeReal is a rare social media experience that does not feel like a constant competition for maximum exposure. Enjoy the ride. Even if it doesn’t last forever, you may have a good time relishing the banal.
