This new app stands out from the rest and has big social-media companies trying to cash in on the fame.
Key Details
- The newest app racking in downloads is BeReal. The app launched in 2020, and has quickly shot to fame in the past few months.
- BeReal is No. 1 in at least nine markets, and is in the top five iPhone apps in around 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, when it passed TikTok as well, reports Washington Post writer Will Oremus.
- BeReal has a distinct concept that is different from most social-media platforms prompting users to live in the moment.
- The app has shot to fame quickly leaving other platforms trying to create their own versions of the popular app.
How it works
BeReal is different from most of the other social-media platforms. It aims to get users to live in the moment and “Be Real.”
The app sends out a notification simultaneously to all users at a different time each day. When users get the notification, they have two minutes to upload what they are doing in that exact moment before their post is labeled “late.”
What’s different about it is that when users are prompted to upload the photo the app takes a picture from the front and back camera, so that your friends on the app get a detailed point of view.
The whole point is to be different from the typical curated photos people post on Instagram and show the real lives of its users.
Why it’s news
For the last couple of years TikTok has been the app scaring other social media platforms, but that could be changing as BeReal dominated the market.
The short video platform was taking over so fast that established apps like YouTube and Instagram were copying the platform and began introducing its own version of the short video features.
Although TikTok remains on top with over 150 million users, it’s now the one copying the hottest new features.
TikTok recently announced TikTok Now which is its own app copying the likes of BeReal, the app prompts users to post a photo of exactly what they are doing at a certain point in time.
Instagram has allegedly been working on its own version as well calling it Instagram Candids.
The app was featured this past weekend on Saturday Night Live.
Why is it so popular?
BeReal has been praised by Gen Z fans and social trend experts for its encouragement to live in the here and now and to present an unfiltered perspective rather than the ultra-filtered lifestyle typically found on Instagram, according to Fortune writer Alice Hearing.
Fans of the app said they enjoy living in the moment and seeing friends on the app not worrying about being perfect on social media.
“I really enjoy it because it removes the pressure to be perfect on social media and it lets you just live in the moment.” says Gabby Pathmanathan, a U.K. based Gen Z student.