BeReal: The app that won’t take no for an answer

BeReal was crowned Apple’s App of the year in 2022 and dubbed “The anti-Instagram.” But is the app still relevant today? Or has it gone off the boil completely?

The premise was simple: each day the app would notify you to take a pic at a random time of day within two minutes, using front and back cameras. These raw unfiltered moments captured something authentic and unfiltered, which was a decent shout when the pandemic embraced “the wonderful ordinary” – dogs cameoing in zoom calls and sweatpants donned in the home office.

But isn’t social media supposed to put a sugar-coated “tip of the iceberg” effect on our projection of what we do to the world?

In Venice last summer I witnessed two narcissists using Aperol Spritzes as props by the Venice Canal as they shot away and then walked off, glasses still full on the table, drinks abandoned. I was gobsmacked. Would this be the kind of user for BeReal? My intuition says no.

Maybe this demographic digs a perfectly plated round of avocado toast with #breakfastgoals next to it. After all, we are “living our best lives” in the most vainglorious ways possible.

Living our best lies

Or are we? What’s wrong with documenting waiting for a cavity at the dentist or filling in your tax return with a ketchup stain on your shirt? Perhaps BeReal was trying to capture something awkward or grainy, much like the original British version of The Office, after all – daily reality isn’t so airbrushed.

In hindsight, the initial success of BeReal was due to its very simple and novel concept of taking a pic in a very spontaneous way a la Snapchat. This appealed to Gen Z, who were getting sick and tired of the filtered nonsense on Instagram and TikTok.

But after that, things started to plateau. Users began to stage what they were actually doing and hence undermined the whole point of the app. Even as soon as February 2023 the daily user count dropped by 48% compared to its peak in late 2022.

Furthermore TikTok launched its TikTok Now feature. So users who were already on the app became even more entrenched with this feature. Don’t forget Instagram too, with its stories and reels. Essentially, the perfect extensions, a bit like a liquor store attached to a pawn shop I saw recently in the district I live in.

Another element that appears to be getting under people’s skin is the dark pattern element that asks users everyday if they agree for their data to be used for third-party advertising even after clicking reject. No wonder users are turning their backs on the app and its manipulative technique.

The privacy advocacy group noyb has even filed a complaint against BeReal with a French data authority agency. It reported how BeReal continues to aggressively push users without their consent, which may beg the question – has the app outstayed its welcome?

With 23 million users and a 4.8 rating on the Apple's store, it still seems like there’s a solid user base for the app. However, it has probably had its heyday. Rivals like Snapchat are exploring inroads into augmented reality, but for BeReal, maybe being so run-of-the-mill will be part of its downfall.