“A photo sharing app where you spontaneously share your real life with your friends.” This is an excerpt from the Linkedin description of the BeReal app, a French social network launched in 2020.
With a dynamic that promotes a slow pace of information and goes against the grain of other networks, BeReal allows only one daily publication – but those who do not make their photographic dual, model made available by the platform, cannot see what has already been published on the platform. feed.
The idea of ​​the photographic dual is nothing more than capturing the moment as faithfully as possible. When invited to post, the user may be eating, exercising, using the bathroom or on a date with friends. By positioning the cell phone, the front and rear cameras capture whatever is within reach and the combination of the two images forms the final publication.
With no fixed time to happen, the app simultaneously notifies its users to take this capture and share within two minutes. That is, there is no time to adjust the light or the scenery.
BeReal does not have filters, followers or likes, and the records made there can be sent to the group of friends added or to the “Discovery” Feed, which makes the images public.
Like other apps, it also allows you to share your BeReal of the day on other social networks. However, in BeReal itself, the interaction between the profiles is restricted to comments or the sending of RealMoji, a button in which it is possible to recreate emojis that are already famous, such as the smile with tears in the eyes or the thumbs up.
Want to upload an old photo from your cell phone? It’s not possible. In addition, BeReal does not allow the publication of videos — exactly one of the focal points of the criticism of Instagram, which has been trying to imitate the Chinese rival TikTok, a native of videos. On other networks and media, users call the app ”anti-Instagram” or ”anti-social network. #hashatg tried to talk to the app developers but got no response.
BeReal has been winning over users with its simple and anti-trend functionality. In July, for example, it appeared among the top-rated apps on the App Store in the US, according to monitoring by the company Sensor Tower.
Just over 1 million people downloaded the app from the PlayStore, a tiny number compared to WhatsApp, which accumulates 5 billion downloads.
Although it is very difficult for a new network to emerge (several have fallen by the wayside in recent years), there is always room for a platform outside the Meta (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), as Snapchat and TikTok can prove.
On Twitter, users share doubts about the application, comment on the delay in the daily notification and say they approve of the new network. Some say they feel young in the network; still others endorse criticism of Instagram and joke with Mark Zuckerberg, suggesting that Instagram was already trying to copy the dual role.
And you, have you used the app? Tell in the comments.
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
