BeReal is a social media app that is grabbing people's attention as the 'anti-Instagram' app. Its focus is on being authentic, it is proving to be a popular model and the app is growing quickly. As a sure sign it is a Silicon Valley challenger, even Tik Tok has reportedly copied some of its features.
The EU-built app is number one in at least nine markets, and in the top five iPhone apps in roughly 40 countries.
It passed Instagram in weekly downloads in July, and was the most downloaded IOS app in the world for August with 11 million downloads. It has 21.6 million active monthly users, according to app analyst Business of Apps. It has even surpassed the other Silicon Valley challenger, TikTok.
The app was launched in France but has taken off in the US, UK, EU, and Mexico recently, also boosted by its popularity with young people and Generation Z.
So what's it all about?
The app works as a photo-sharing app, but the difference here is that it invites users to take a photo of what they are doing, and what is in front of them, once a day. Users do not get to pick the time, but instead get a notification informing them that they have two minutes to share whatever is happening in their life.
Photos are automatically uploaded to a feed with friends, with the goal of making social media more genuine. In contrast to Instagram, users do not get to curate and filter their best experiences.
This creates an interesting mix of unique moments captured in their most natural state, as the 'best bereals' Twitter account proves, but can also show the real mundanity of life.
BeReal can catch people when they are out and about. Others complain that the app only catches them when they are in bed, or in boring moments – and not when they are doing something actually 'worth' sharing. But that is the point.
Unsurprisingly, the theoretical concept of the app has been seemingly lost by some on the other side of the Atlantic. "The people it's hitting are the people who are actively looking at their phones at that moment," wrote Jason Koebler in Vice.
"This means that looking through BeReal's feeds shows an endless stream of people laying in bed, sitting in class, commuting on the bus or subway, working at their desks, staring at walls, or otherwise in places where they are actively using their phones or doomscrolling."
"Lots of people are doing cool stuff at least some of the time, presumably when they’re not looking at their phones." Others have questioned how 'real' the app really is, as people can delay the moment they post.
EU vs US
Created by an ex-GoPro employee, Alexis Barreyat, and business partner Kévin Perreau, the French app launched in 2020.
Its popularity has similarities with how Facebook first started in the 2000s. Its creators used elite college campuses in the US, such as Harvard or Georgetown University, to launch the app through a student ambassador programme.
The app comes after years of Facebook-dominated social media, with many having criticised the way apps like Instagram give an illusion of fun, luxury and self-promotion. According to Jasmina Pless, startup analyst at the Danish Chamber of Commerce, this is likely to change, particularly as social media moves towards being more authentic.
"On BeReal, people's posting time is limited. It's a type of backlash against Instagram, it's just not healthy looking at overly polished profiles," she told The Brussels Times.
Pless is impressed by how well the app is doing, as its value increased to $600 million within two years.
She points out that it is unclear how their source of income works, as they don't have to charge for content or allow advertisements. What is clear, is that the app developers have enticed investors, even when the EU is not the easiest market to make a breakthrough.
Startups in the EU generally have a harder time taking off compared to the US, explained Pless.
"In the EU, you have to expand in each country, and the big cultural and linguistic differences in the EU mean that many startups dream of expanding in the United States, instead."
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When asked if the French app's success means that the tide may be reversing in the EU tech sector, Pless said it was not necessarily an EU trend.
A lasting trend?
Pless explained that for BeReal to have lasting success it would need to drastically increase the number of users, particularly in the world of start ups.
"Tech startups need to dominate the market, as niche areas just don't work. BeReal would need to get investors to sign off on their work, which they've done so far."
She added that on a societal level, it's good to see an app gaining exposure, as the EU has had to fight American social media on rights issues such as data protection.
"An app developed in the EU will from the get-go include user protection, which benefits consumers."
