All about capturing a truly authentic moment in time? Then this app might be the one for you.
If you need a little guide on the latest social media sensation sweeping the nation, allow us to fill you in. BeReal—which was founded in January 2020—has become the No. 1 free app in the iOS App Store within the past week.
It's a photo sharing app that alerts users every day at a random time giving them a two-minute window to snap a picture of themselves and what they're up to. For reference, the push notification looks a lot like this: ⚠️ Time to BeReal. ⚠️
And if you need proof of just how on-the-rise the social media app is, according to Social Media Today, downloads have jumped 315 percent since the beginning of this year. That puts BeReal in fourth place of the most downloaded social media apps behind Instagram, Snapchat, and Pinterest.
But, enough from us. Read on to find out everything you need to know about the app in a snap:
What is BeReal?
According to the description included in the app store, BeReal is the "first uncontrollable social media app to share authentic moments" in pictures. As the company shared in a statement to The Verge, the app is "a candid and fun place for people to share their lives with friends," adding that the network wants "to make people feel good about themselves and their lives."
As the company put it: "We want an alternative to addictive social networks fueling social comparison and portraying life with the goal of amassing influence."
Who Was It Founded By?
The app was developed in January 2020 in France by Alexis Barreyat, a former employee of Go Pro.
How Does It Work?
The app notifies users every day at a random time—which varies by country—that it's "time to Be Real." With that push notification, there is a two-minute timer for users to take a picture of whatever they're doing that moment (taking both a selfie and rear-facing photo). The catch is that you can only see what your friends are also doing if you post. To be clear, you can still post after your two minutes are up—but just know that your photo will be marked as "late."
How Can You Join?
Any iOS and/or Android user can download the BeReal app from the Apple store and/or Google Play.