No filters, likes and followers: the social network BeReal is gaining popularity for being “anti-Instagram”; See how to use | technology

Daily, at a random time, all users receive a notification of an invitation to post a photo. To avoid over-production of images, the app suggests posting within 2 minutes and does not allow the use of filters or pre-editing.

It also does not follow the logic of Instagram followers. Instead, users have friends, and can only chat via private messages – the number of friends is not shown to other people who visit the profile.

a g 1 He also spoke to regular users of BeReal, who told how the experience is in the new social network (see end of report).

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Available for free for Android and iPhone (iOS) devices, BeReal was created in France by Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau in 2020, but it’s only now having a hit, especially among younger users, the so-called Generation Z.

BeReal’s global active user base grew 315% between December 2021 and March this year, from 480,000 users to 2 million in March in that period, according to a study by data intelligence platform Apptopia.

On Android only, between August 22nd and September 18th, There have been over 413,000 downloads of BeReal on the Play StoreAccording to a survey conducted by the SEO Conversion Agency.

Google Trends data shows the high volume of searches for the social network, with two peaks: one on August 28 and the other, more recent, on September 17.

After downloading the application and creating an account, you need to wait for a notification from the social network to post a photo. “It’s BeReal time – 2 minutes left to take a BeReal photo and see what your friends are up to,” reads the platform’s message.

Here’s how to post a photo on BeReal:

• Open the notification and pick up what you’re currently doing (The app records the back and front camera of the phone simultaneously);
• Put your location if you wish;
• Choose who can see the photo: “Only my friends” or “Discovery” (with everyone from BeReal);
• Click “Send”;
• Finally, if you prefer, leave a comment.

There is no requirement to post the photo within two minutes. BeReal allows you to share later, but if that happens, the app will display a “delayed” warning next to the photo.

It is possible to send private messages on friends’ photos or reply (a function called RealMojis) with a photo of your own representing this emoji: 👍😄😯😍😂.

BeReal is gaining fans in Brazil

In an interview with g 1User Camila Cousseau, 34, says she is “addicted” to the new social network and is very loyal to when the app sends a notification to post the photo. It understands that the platform encourages users to be more authentic and less “personal”.

“It’s a social network that you go into once, twice, three times a day and then live your life. There’s no way to waste too much time there, just by scrolling through the entire feed and seeing what your friends are doing” says Koso.

Translator Lucas Blacioli, 30, says people use BeReal to post things deemed “un-Instagram-able”. “There are a lot of everyday photos, without a filter,” he says. “However, the urgent need to have two minutes to post often leaves us looking for something cool to surround us with.”

Interviewer Marcos Mendes, 37, says the experience within the network is good, but he is uncomfortable with the poor geolocation feature.

“It can pave the way for inadvertently revealing your home or work address,” says Mendes. “I turn off geo-tracking on all photos and advise everyone to do the same especially when posting from home.”

a g 1 I contacted BeReal to talk about how geolocation works, but the company declined to comment.