BeReal can't seem to be real with its users

The candid, no-filter app is losing touch with its original purpose and users are not having it

BeReal is a photo-sharing social media platform, created by an ex-GoPro employee, aimed at authenticity and candidness. 

The app works as follows:

1. The app will randomly determine a time during each day to send an alert to all users at the same time, indicating to them that "it is time to BeReal".

2. Once users have received this notification, they have exactly 2 minutes to take their BeReal or risk losing certain features in the app*. Their photo would be taken with both the front and back camera to give a full immersion into their day.

3. Users are then able to see those whom they have friended on the platform's BeReals with the requirement that they must have taken their own first.

*When the app first launched, users could only take BeReals during the allocated time or otherwise miss out on their opportunity to BeReal for the day.

BeReal's functionality

📸 What made BeReal different from the rest 📸

The idea of being able to give and receive a 360º candid glimpse into your friends' days was very attractive to Gen Z who had become disenchanted with the plasticity and manufactured nature of other social platforms. BeReal offered a refresh into reality to a generation that yearns for genuine connections in a digital world. 

And so, it goes without saying that the app exploded once it was introduced to college students in 2022. 

Apptopia reported that BeReal app downloads skyrocketed by over 315% in Q1 of 2022

This trend continued as many more users began looking for more genuine and less manufactured spaces online and by January of 2024, the app had been downloaded over 100 million times.

📸 How BeReal alienated its user base 📸

And so, here we are.

On 6 February 2024, the BeReal team started building up hype for a "big announcement" that they would be making the following day. Users flooded the app's comments on social channels speculating about feature releases and whether the app would be bringing back 0.5x zoom feature it had removed. The following day came, the "big" new feature was announced and users lost it.

The BeReal team posted a series of TikToks teasing a "big announcement"

The team had announced that they would be bringing a feature where users can follow their favourite celebrities, influencers and brands on social media - the very concept that BeReal originally sought to destroy. In fact, the feature directly contradicted the brand's tagline "No filters, No followers, No ads, No bullshit. Just your friends, for real".

BeReal's original tagline that has since been wiped from their socials

Fans of the app were quick to let the developers know about their disapproval in the comments section of their posts.

Users voice their dissatisfaction on BeReal's social channels

📸 The dilemma 📸

So, when authenticity is trending on social media more than ever, why would BeReal completely turn against this philosophy? 

The answer, as with most things these days, is financial sustainability. For any online platform to be successful in the long term, it needs to make money. And how do social platforms make money? Well, If something is free to you online, then you are usually the product and not the customer.

So, to be able to stick around for the long run, BeReal was going to have to let the corporations have a piece of the action eventually. And, my friends, today is that day.

📸 #CancelBeReal? 📸

So does this move make the BeReal team a group of blood-sucking, money-hungry vampires? No, I think they were always stuck between a rock and an eventuality and I genuinely think the intention behind the app is good. 

I think the BeReal team is trying to go about this in the best way possible to not veer too far away from their original vision, and I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Do I think they went about the announcement in the right way? Not really. The team created hype around the feature as if it was something users have been begging for and have continued doubling down on social with a "look how great this is" attitude and it has left a bad taste in the public's mouth. If I was BeReal announcing a feature that I knew my users would not be too thrilled about, I would stick to my values and be transparent and authentic. Yeah, it's not ideal but we're trying to do it in a way that ensures that you can still have the best experience - something along those lines.

Possible unpopular opinion - I think they implemented the influencer-brand factor in a fresh. cool way. Having exclusive features for users who regularly interact with their favourite celebrity is kind of cool (under the provision that it does not become too parasocial).

📸 Should your brand be on BeReal? 📸

Well, as of writing this, the realpeople and realbrands feature seems to be invite-only.

But, when other brands and businesses can hop on over and chat with the kids on BeReal, should your business join in?

I would hold off. I predict that the pushback with last quite a while, especially when more brands join in. In fact, I think brands joining BeReal could inadvertently come off as less authentic. 

Being too eager to join the Gen Z adopted app too soon may come across a little..

But who knows? The sentiment might change as brand communication and user sentiment change. We'll have to keep an eye on this one.

What do you think? Is there another way BeReal could have gone about this? Do you think the feature will be successful in the long run? 

Let me know in the comments 💬