- In the digital ecosystem, there are various applications whose main feature is sharing images, and probably the flagship of all of them is Instagram, which turns 12 in October 2022.
And it is that, with more than a decade between us, it is normal that Instagram has a global presence and dominates in the field of photography social networks. However, there is a young social network that is growing by leaps and bounds, especially in 2022.
This is the BeReal app, which was launched on December 19, 2019 and whose main objective is to urge users to be more authentic than on other social networks where you can edit and retouch images at will.
What is BeReal?
BeReal is a social networking application that encourages users to share a part of their life in real time.
The app, which has the slogan “Your friends for real” (Your friends for real), is only available on Apple’s iOS operating system, and seems to like it a lot since it has a rating of 4.9 stars.
As the name suggests, the goal is authenticity. The app invites users once a day to share a photo of what they’re currently doing, giving friends and others an unvarnished view of their lives.
It has no filters or edit buttons. So if your hair is a mess at the moment and your view is of a rainy parking lot, that’s what people will see.
The result is a far cry from the polished, overly manicured photos that are popular on other social media platforms.
How does it work?
The concept of BeReal is simple. Once you download the app, you get a notification once a day that “It’s time for BeReal”. That means you have two minutes to take and post a picture of what you’re doing, no matter how mundane.
There is no fixed time: the notification arrives at various times of the day, which adds to the mystery of the application.
“Push notifications are sent simultaneously around the world at different times of the day,” the company explains in a statement. “It’s a secret how the time is chosen each day, it’s not random.”
That means that the potential window into your life can open at any time. When it does, the app invites you to take a photo of what you’re doing at the time. It takes a double photo: a selfie and one that shows what is in front of you. (BeReal does not allow videos yet).
The result is a social feed filled with raw photos of your close friends doing everyday, unglamorous things: lounging in pajamas, doing homework, riding the bus, microwaving dinner.