What's The Point Of BeReal And Why Is It So Popular?

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BeReal is a relatively new addition to the social media space that encourages users to share pictures of themselves in the moment, making it a popular choice amongst people who are tired of apps like Instagram giving users endless control of pictures with filters, effects, and edits. Although the app was released in 2020, BeReal has gained renewed interest in 2022, with downloads increasing by around 390 percent since 2021. BeReal is similar to social media apps such as Snapchat or Instagram in that it is focused primarily on sharing pictures with friends on the app. The difference though is that BeReal tries to be, well, more "real" than the competition.

Users of the app only have two minutes to take a picture when the notification arrives and most people will not have a chance to get the perfect lighting or use filters to make themselves look different from reality. Not only does BeReal post a selfie of the person, but simultaneously, the app uses the rear camera to take a picture of the surroundings of the user, to show what the user looks like at that moment and what they were doing. This new approach gives users less control over their pictures but makes up for the lack of control with a more authentic representation of each user.

Related: What Is The BeReal App & How Do You Use It?

So, why would people want to use BeReal to post pictures at unspecified times in ways that may be embarrassing? Well, in the world of apps with unrealistic filters, effects, and perfectly lit environments, there is less reality online than ever before. Apps like Instagram and Snapchat all give users as much time as they want to get the perfect picture or video and the filters provided by the apps allow users to make a version of