Just when you thought you’ve tried every form of social media imaginable, A new app appears to replace the game. Unlike Instagram and Snapchat, BeReal, As its name implies, it encourages users to be “real” for a few minutes every day without the help of any filters, effects or lenses. If you’re ready for social media, here’s a detailed look at the BeReal app, including what it is, how to use it, and more.
If you haven’t been keeping up with the BeReal craze, allow me to fill you in. BeReal is a social media app that Founded in 2020 by French entrepreneur Alexis Barreot, it aims to bring back authenticity to social media. Instead of filtering and enhancing images and videos, BeReal focuses on real snapshots of life. To help facilitate what the app refers to as authenticity, you may not alter your images with any filters or use the self-timer to take photos. but the point is really What sets BeReal apart from other social media platforms is that you’re alerted at a random time every day to indicate when to post on the app, no matter what you’re doing.
Some other aspects of the app that make BeReal stand out from the rest are that the posts don’t add up to any sort of grid – they’re only posted to your newsfeed until it’s time to pick up your next BeReal Happens. Speaking of posts, the app doesn’t allow users to post videos of any kind, so every post you see is a still picture. Plus, there’s no story feature, and you’re only allowed to post once a day. What’s more, you can’t add any filters to your posts, and you can only post photos that you take at the moment.
According to The Washington Post, the platform started gaining popularity in 2022 and as of May 2022, BeReal has received over 10 million downloads worldwide. With so many people turning to BeReal, there’s a good chance you’ll hear about the app, but if you’re fuzzy in the details, here’s what you need to know.
What is BeReal?
BeReal is a new social media platform that encourages you to present the unfiltered version of your life. The app decides whether users should use BeReal by sending a notification at a random time every day and allowing you two minutes to post a picture of yourself and what you are doing at that time. You can only post once a day, so you want to make it count.
BeReal is unique in that it isn’t designed to let you spend hours aimlessly scrolling through your feed like other forms of social media (looking at you, TikTok). Instead, BeReal is meant to be used only for a few minutes a day. After you’ve posted your BeReal for the day, you can’t do much more than interact with your friends’ posts on the app or scroll down to the Discovery tab. The idea is to show everyone what they’re up to at that exact moment of the day, to remind users that people are more than the “highlight reel” versions of themselves they show up on social media.
Like all social media apps, BeReal lets you add friends so you can keep up with them on your timeline. you can also Browse public BeReal posts via the Discovery tab, Which is a feed dedicated to public BeReal posts. There is no desktop version of BeReal, which means you can only access the platform through the mobile app.
How to use BeReal
The specifics of posting on BeReal and how the app works can be a little confusing, so let’s break them down one by one.
How to Post on BeReal
BeReal users in the same time zone receive a notification at random times each day alerting them that they have two minutes to post on BeReal. When it’s time to post, the app will open your BeReal camera, and at two minutes the countdown will begin. During those two minutes, you have to take a picture of what you are seeing and at the same time. (I know, it sounds daunting, but the camera takes them all at once for you.) You can’t add any filters or effects to your photos, and the camera only lets you see through one lens, which Meaning you can only focus on your selfie pose or whatever you’re looking at when you snap your picture. This is basically as real as social media can get.
Once you’ve posted your BeReal, your friends (and strangers, if your account is public) can view and interact with your posts. The picture you are viewing serves as the main image, and your selfie is added to the left corner of the main image. If you want to change the perspective, just tap the image in the corner, and the two photos will switch. After your post is sent, you can add an attached caption, but the app only allows you a limited amount of characters.
If you successfully pick up and post your post within two minutes of your alert, your post will be considered “on time”. But if you miss the window to post, don’t worry — it’s not the end of the world.
What happens if your BeReal is late?
Posting late BeReal has virtually no consequences, other than the fact that your friends will be able to see how late your post was. In the right corner next to your post, you’ll see a time stamp indicating when you posted your BeReal – 20 minutes late, two hours late, 16 hours late, whatever.
Nothing will happen to your account even if you forget to post all day. Sometimes you are too busy to take two minutes out of your day for BeReal posts. It happens to the best of us.
Can you retake your BeReal photo?
Although you’ll want to try to nail your BeReal snap first, you can retake your photo as many times as you want within those two minutes before posting. However, if you do this, be aware that users with 10 or more friends will be able to see the number of attempts you have made.
To see someone’s retakes, tap the three dots in the top right corner of their post. A pop-up will appear at the bottom of the screen that breaks down the amount of comments and RealMoji reactions their posts have received, as well as the number of retakes they have taken.
Can you delete a post on BeReal?
You can delete posts on BeReal, but users get to delete only one post in a day. That means if your second BeReal is worse than the first, you stick with that post until the next post notification goes out and the feed is wiped.
To delete a post, tap the three dots in the top right of your post, then tap Options in the bottom right. Select “Delete My BeReal” and select the reason why you are deleting your post. Finally, tap “Yes, I’m sure” and your post is gone.
How to interact with posts on BeReal — RealMoji
Obviously you can comment on a friend’s BeReal post, but the easiest and most fun way to interact with a post is by reacting with a RealMoji. BeReal lets you recreate six popular reaction emoji – thumbs up, happy, shocked, neutral, sad and laugh – so that you can react with your face to your friends’ posts. To get a RealMoji, tap the smiley face in the lower-right corner of a post. Tap the emoji you want to recreate, and snap a photo. Once you fix your photo, that photo will serve as the Realmoji for that expression going forward.
How to make a post public on BeReal
Although the Discovery tab allows users to scroll through public BeReal posts, the posts are not automatically public. To change your privacy settings from private to public, be sure to switch the privacy settings from My Friends Only to Discovery at the bottom of your post before sending it to your BeReal.
Can people see my old BeReal posts?
Unlike other forms of social media, BeReal does not provide users with a public profile archive of their past posts. Only you can see your previous posts in the section called Memories.
To find your memories, tap your profile icon at the top right corner of the screen. This will take you to your profile, where you can see your posts from the last 14 days. To see your memories after those 14 days, tap “See all my memories.”
While it may sound confusing, BeReal is actually pretty easy to follow once you get the hang of it. I mean, hey – it’s got over 10 million downloads for a reason, right? They must be doing something right.
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