by By Maddy Kohnke
An app that prides itself on authenticity might stray away from its original message sooner than you’d think.
The popular app, BeReal, first launched in 2020 in an effort to defy what it means to post on social media. The creators, Alexis Barreyat and Kévin Perreau, saw one large flaw in how people interact online. Everything is curated. From Snapchat stories to aesthetic Instagram feeds, every app that was designed to bring communities together has somehow turned into a competition. Thus, in a world of false authenticity, BeReal was born.
The app refers to itself as “Your daily dose of real life”, as for the past four years users have been sent a notification once per day instructing them to “be real” and post a photo of what they’re doing in that exact moment. They then have two minutes to post their photo before it’s marked as late. The app has many ways to track transparency such from showing what time/ how late the post was made, how many times the picture was retaken and live reaction photos. The app originally focused on connecting friends with one another as opposed to meeting new people or growing one’s follower count. This has specifically set BeReal apart from other social media platforms, as it’s rare to have a platform focus on keeping its user community tight. It’s no surprise that over time a large number of users have prioritized getting the perfect photo, even if that means being hours late to posting or retaking their photo several times, yet the app’s mission has seemed to remain constant. However, with new changes being announced some are questioning if that will change.
BeReal recently announced that brands and celebrities can now join in on the app as verified accounts that are listed under “RealBrands” and “RealPeople”. Regular users have the ability to follow and interact with these accounts. The app states the reasoning behind this shift is to show people that celebrities and public figures are just like the rest of us by giving everyone a look behind the scenes. Ideally, celebrities would post their day-to-day lives, showing what their lives look like when they’re not on a red carpet. However, some people suggest that this is a counterintuitive move, as bringing celebrities and brands onto the platform inherently make it less authentic.
The polarizing update has created a large divide between users, with some stating that they’re excited to see a new layer of celebrity drama every day and others claiming this to be the downfall of the app. The idea people can’t seem to agree on is whether this is an incredibly smart move considering the brand’s identity regarding transparency on all levels, or a cop out as the brand prides itself on cultivating a tight-knit community. The brand has undoubtedly seen an increase in attention, and some argue a resurgence, since the announcement. While not everyone may agree with the celebrity feature, it clearly was a big move for the company that has the ability to launch the app in a whole new direction.
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Maddy, what an intriguing blog! As an avid BeReal user myself, I was initially taken aback when I saw the newest updates of RealBrands and RealPeople through the introduction of celebrity users. While I too had been seeing content regarding this on my social media, I initially thought that this update was counterintuitive to the true mission and reason behind the platform. BeReal pushes the idea of authentic content and social interactions with friends, so allowing brands to curate their own advertisements through the app strays away from their mission in my eyes.
Hi Maddy, thanks so much for sharing. I was an avid BeReal user in its peak hype around two summers ago. I did however notice my lack of authenticity when it came to the app. Often time when the BeReal went off I was lying in bed and doing nothing. I caught myself waiting until I was doing something more interesting to take my BeReal. For that reason, I got off the app, as I felt like I was avoiding the real purpose of it. I did not know about the update until reading your blog. I think it’s an interesting update for the app to do. It kind of defeats the purpose of the whole thing.
What a well written blog, Maddy! Although I’ve never been a BeReal user myself, I’m very familiar with it because many of my friends used it when it was trending. I completely agree that the shift in users and the introduction of the new celebrity day-in-the-life approach gives off an inauthentic feel, which could potentially drive users away. It seems to contradict the initial purpose of the app, and I’ve noticed a decline in engagement week by week.
Hi Maddy, really interesting blog post! I was a user of BeReal up until the end of last year but stopped using it at the beginning of this year. At first, I found it fun to post and see what my friends were doing, but at some point, there was too much pressure to get the “perfect photo.” However, as I kept using the app, I found too much pressure in posting a photo on time when I was doing an activity. Some of my friends still use BeReal but do not post on time. Their sole reason for using it is to keep a daily log for the year. I think the new celebrity update on the app is very interesting. Although it moves away from the original purpose of the app, it would be a new way for celebrities to interact with their fans. However, I am not sure if many celebrities would want to use the app for this reason as a lot of their work is confidential.
Thank you for sharing what a good blog to read. Although I am not a Bereal user, I do know people who do use it. I found it interesting when you said that the shift when having the opportunity to see celebrities day to day lives it can drive them away from the people who are already using the app. I think that people would use the app less
I really enjoyed reading your blog! I had BeReal for awhile, but deleted it about six months ago because all the notifications were really annoying me. I haven’t heard of this new update, so it is very interesting to see BeReal stray away from the whole purpose of their app. It is a very unique idea to bring celebrities to the platform because I am sure it will make some users more engaged with the app. I don’t know how much longer BeReal will be popular for, but this is a good update for the time being.
Hi Maddy!
I was a Be Real user myself but I eventually deleted it because not a lot of people post on time anymore and my phone would constantly light up every time every single time someone posted. I am not a fan of the new update because it doesn’t feel real anymore. I agree with the other half of the people that it is not authentic anymore, it is more like a social media app if you can add celebrities instead of only seeing your friends on your feed.
Hello Maddy,
I have not thought of using BeReal before and have learned a lot about the platform by reading your blog! Thank you for sharing your thoughts on how the landscape of BeReal has changed over time. I find it very interesting that BeReal has approved brands to have verified accounts — I can see the divide it has caused between users and I am interested to see how this plays out for BeReal.
Hi Maddy! I think this post is really relevant because over the past year, we have seen BeReal sort of fall off in popularity among our peers. I think the option to post whenever defeats the “real” purpose of the app as people can take their BeReals when they are doing something “interesting” throughout the day and often wait through the scheduled post time. Overall I think this is great work in diving into this platform!
Hi Maddy, first this was a great post to read. I used BeReal for a little while and I agree that adding celebrities to the app would make the app counterintuitive. It would not be authentic and stick to its mission if celebrities and companies are now on the app. It is already an app that has become like other social media apps because most people curate their posts. Adding celebrities would only add to this.
Hey Maddy! I have been hesitant to add the famous people on BeReal and am feeling like BeReal has lost its big selling points recently. It feels like as people got more used to the instantaneous features of the app. It seems less and less popular than in recent years. I wonder if BeReal will surge and then lose its relevance for users and we might see a decrease in the social media app.