What is BeReal? Everything you need to know about this fast-growing social media app

While the search for authenticity online may be a fruitless one, the app is well-designed and easy to pick up. In December 2022, similar to Spotify’s “Wrapped,” BeReal launched a feature involving a video of a compilation of users’ BeReal posts of 2022. I initially thought BeReal was strictly for sharing photos, but after a few days, I realized I could also add a caption underneath is there such a thing as a thermometer app my picture after it went live. Rather, you have to take a selfie of your face inside a circle template on the app. These are called “realmojis,” where instead of commenting on someone’s post with an emoji, your facial expression becomes an emoji in itself. According to the BeReal website, you can only delete your post once a day after you’ve posted it on your feed.

The company employs marketer Emily Moravits, who previously helped lead the student ambassador program for dating app Bumble.
I’ve gotten used to posting when I feel like it, and it’s really nice to be able to look back on your “memories” and remember what you were doing on any given day.
If you haven’t heard of the BeReal app and you’re not a member of Gen Z, you’re forgiven.
“Snapchat is more like you’re sending this to one person, if you post on your story, you’re trying to look good,” she said.

Yik Yak, which let people read anonymous posts from nearby users, shut down a few years later amid waves of controversy. 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. Then every day at a different time, the app alerts users that it’s time to take a photo of what they are doing in the moment.

How do you shoot a BeReal?

For example, instead of the thumbs up emoji, a user could send themselves give a thumbs up. Because of its daily cycle of engagement, it has been compared to Wordle, which gained popularity earlier in 2022.[26] It also supports a platform similar to Snapchat with a theme of impermanence and brevity. In the past, trendy apps like Houseparty and Clubhouse have had big moments of popularity, but after a while, people around me have stopped using them, so I’m excited to see what happens in this case.

I very quickly got a sense of what the app was all about because I didn’t have time to assess the lighting or fix my hair before having to take the shot.
In September, TikTok introduced TikTok Now, a way to “foster authentic and spontaneous connections on TikTok”.
Users have 2 minutes to take a photo and submit it to BeReal for others to see.

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. Even if it doesn’t last forever, you may have a good time relishing the banal. 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.

What happens to your BeReal after you post it?

When a user downloads the BeReal app, they must add their phone number, name and age. At this point, they are asked to create their first BeReal post to start seeing others’ photos too. One of the best features of BeReal is being able to see a collection of your daily posts. In your memories, you will be able to see a calendar layout with your photos from every day you completed the task. On BeReal, you can only post photos with the two-box, front and back camera format when you are prompted. There is no option to post additional content, such as other photos, because that would take away from the “in the moment” aspect of the app.

But as each of my friends started using BeReal, they began to rave about how fun it was to keep in touch with friends throughout the day on the app, so I eventually caved to the peer pressure and FOMO.
This takes away the pressure of wanting to curate a perfect public image and brings back the fun of sharing content only with your friends.
If done correctly, the images are an authentic representation of a person’s day-to-day life.
In July, right when BeReal reached number one in the US, Instagram launched a dual-camera feature for stories that lets you record or photograph something while also showing your reaction.

“It’s just so fun to, like, go take a break throughout my day and just go on there and see exactly what people are doing in the moment and, like, throughout their day and where people are at,” she said. The idea is you take a photo of whatever you’re doing at that time, no matter how mundane or exciting. You could be walking to class, taking a bus to work, or maybe you get the notification right as you’re sitting down for dinner or on a bike ride.

Recent posts

One thing I really didn’t like about BeReal is the way it notifies you when someone’s photo has been posted after the two-minute notification has passed. I was thankful that my post would only be visible to people I added as anger thermometer app “friends” on the app, so no one else could see this rather unimpressive picture. When I first downloaded the app, it almost immediately asked me to post my first BeReal, giving me a two-minute countdown to take my picture.

BeReal encourages participation by asking users to share content before they can view other people’s posts.
The curation that individuals do on other social media platforms is part of what BeReal is trying to break with the lack of filters and the timestamps it has.
The picture features whatever the user focused on as well as an image of the user in their current state in the top corner.
BeReal sounds like it would serve a similar function to some group chats Stedman already has in his life, he said.
In an age where social media features heavily edited photos, an app like BeReal can encourage authenticity.
However, employees’ BeReal posts could be beneficial for marketing, and companies can benefit as it appeals to millennials and Generation Z.

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. In February, Harvard student Mariah Norman declared photo dumps on Instagram a passé endeavor so mainstream that the president does it. 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.

I tried BeReal, the buzzy photo-sharing app trying to stop people using filters, and after 7 days I was hooked

According to BeReal’s Terms of Use, the app is for those aged 13 and older. To react to someone else’s post on BeReal, you can’t just hit a “heart” or “thumbs up” button. I first heard about it from a friend, who said she was absolutely loving it and wanted our entire friendship group to start using it.

BeReal is a French social media photo sharing app released in 2020, gaining popularity in 2022.
After a couple of years of relative obscurity, it rapidly gained popularity in early and mid-2022, before experiencing a decrease in use in 2023.
However, the company itself is a hosting company, which means it is not required to monitor the information others post.
I usually post my picture, briefly scroll through and react to my friends’ pictures, and then get on with the rest of my day.
To react to someone else’s post on BeReal, you can’t just hit a “heart” or “thumbs up” button.

I aspired to post on time every day, feeling especially proud of myself when I managed to do so. BeReal allows you to share photos of yourself <--more--> and your life, but with a catch. It tells you that it’s time to post your BeReal for the day and you have two minutes to do so.

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With this update, users are given a daily prompt at a randomized time throughout the day to make a post and share what they are doing within a three-minute period. The only major difference is that you can share a ten-second video or a static photo (with the same BeReal two-camera format) when the notification goes off. Because you are required to take photos in the moment, the photos you post and see aren’t retouched, edited or fabricated to show an idealized, unrealistic portrayal of a person. If done correctly, the images are an authentic representation of a person’s day-to-day life. At best, it’s social media but without the airbrushed fictional curated edge.

BeReal was launched in 2020 but has rocketed up the download list this year.
Your friends are also supposed to get the notification at the same time.
It tells you that it’s time to post your BeReal for the day and you have two minutes to do so.
Then every day at a different time, the app alerts users that it’s time to take a photo of what they are doing in the moment.
While setting up an account, BeReal nudges new users to snap their first post on the spot.
You get to decide whether a post is shared on the global feed or to only your friends.

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. A new photo-sharing social media app called BeReal has become the latest obsession for Gen Z. To react, you have to click an emoji and send a photo of you doing the emoji’s expression. The person who’s post you are reacting to will be able to see the picture of you reacting to their post.

Reporting inappropriate content

BeReal’s recent surge in downloads can be partially attributed to a string of viral TikToks referencing the social media app. BeReal is a social media app that might just bring back a little bit of authenticity to our social media posts. BeReal is a French social media photo sharing app released in 2020, gaining popularity in 2022. It encourages users to post a photo of themselves and their lives without filters or editing to the images every day at a different time. In September, TikTok introduced TikTok Now, a way to “foster authentic and spontaneous connections on TikTok”.

I started to really like this feature, as it allowed me to add context to my BeReal and explain what I was doing.
“A big part of why I wrote it is because I was trying to figure out whether or not the internet is a place where we can feel human,” he said.
To react, you have to click an emoji and send a photo of you doing the emoji’s expression.
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.
When a user downloads the BeReal app, they must add their phone number, name and age.

“Whereas this is like … wherever you’re at, whatever you’re doing, you stop in the moment and all your friends can see it. It’s more like a down-to-earth app. I would say it’s like a judgment-free zone.” BeReal’s 315% year-to-date increase in downloads is significant, but that’s not the only notable number. The app was started by French entrepreneur Alexis Barreyat in 2020, but at least 65% of lifetime downloads happened in the first quarter of 2022. There are six standard emojis to react with along with an option to create a RealMoji. With RealMoji, users can create their own by taking a picture of themselves.

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Users have 2 minutes to take a photo and submit it to BeReal for others to see. The picture features whatever the user focused on as well as an image of the user in their current state in the top corner. Posting a BeReal is a very simple process since the photos are meant to be as authentic as possible.

I had a lot of fun with these, as it felt like I could react to what my friends were doing in a more authentic and personal way by showing them my own face.
According to the BeReal website, you can only delete your post once a day after you’ve posted it on your feed.
Your geolocation will be included with the post unless you toggle it off.
According to the app’s description on Apple’s App Store, BeReal encourages people to “show your friends who you really are, for once,” by removing filters and opportunities to stage, over-think, or edit photos.
The app was started by French entrepreneur Alexis Barreyat in 2020, but at least 65% of lifetime downloads happened in the first quarter of 2022.
You only have two minutes to respond, and a two-image collage is captured from your front and back cameras.

The app provides you with a way to keep up with what your friends are doing everyday, while also being able to authentically document your day-to-day life. However, if you don’t want to commit to posting everyday, this app may not be for you. Even for late BeReals, a two-minute timer is onscreen and counting down as you take (or retake) pictures. Similar to the earliest forms of social networking sites (remember AIM), on the app you have friends instead of followers and only these select groups of people can see your posts. This takes away the pressure of wanting to curate a perfect public image and brings back the fun of sharing content only with your friends. BeReal notifications go off once a day at different, random times for all the users.

BeReal 1.6.1

It definitely took me a few days to get used to BeReal’s unique format. I kept getting frustrated that my pictures weren’t as polished or aesthetic as I would usually want them to be, but I’m slowly starting to enjoy the fact that there’s no pressure to look my best on the app. I started to really like this feature, as it allowed me to add context to my BeReal and explain what I was doing. I had a lot of fun with these, as it felt like I could react to what my friends were doing in a more authentic and personal way by showing them my own face.

If the photo is shared outside of the standard two minute window, other users can see a note that tells them this.
If you convince a couple of friends to participate, the app can be off-the-cuff fun.
You could be walking to class, taking a bus to work, or maybe you get the notification right as you’re sitting down for dinner or on a bike ride.
When I tried to delete my unflattering BeReal post, I was given a list of options and asked to tick the reason I wanted to delete my picture.
When the notification goes off, you have two minutes to post a picture.

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. 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.

BeReal is Gen Z’s new favorite social media app. Here’s how it works

Other users can also see how many attempts the poster took to take the BeReal, as well as their location when the BeReal was taken. BeReal also features a ‘Discovery’ section,[23] whereby users are given the option to share to a much wider, public audience. This feature, however, is limited, as users are not able to interact with the posts through commenting—unlike the ‘My Friends’ feature. 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.

One of my favorite features on BeReal is the “profile” page, where you can see all your previous posts, which the app calls your “memories.”
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.
BeReal notifications go off once a day at different, random times for all the users.
Your post each day is the toll to view friends’ posts on the discovery feed.

BeReal was initially released in January 2020 but didn’t skyrocket until this year. This year, BeReal’s popularity has soared, accumulating over 56 million downloads, according to the The Washington Post. Out of its global audience, the app is the most popular in the United States. As of November 2022, BeReal is ranked number six in the app store for top free social-networking apps for iPhone, trailing shortly behind industry giants such as Facebook and WhatsApp.