Play Bereal

Application phenomenon that is trying to return users to reality

Bereal - an application that in accidental time sends a notification with the phrase “time to be real”. Then the user has two minutes to take a photo on the front and main camera of the smartphone. If you do not have time, you will not be able to view the tape. “Sanctions” against the user are applied and if he tries to close one of the cameras.

Journalist of Novaya Gazeta. Europe ”used the application for one day and found out that the notification could be sent both during a business meeting and walks with friends. The application has flaws: the loading of the final image sometimes hung, and they still need to be photographed several times a day, although the developers spoke only about one thing.

The application came out at the beginning of 2020, but gained popularity only in the summer of 2022 after adolescents began to lay out in Tiktok a selection of reactions in the photograph to popular music.

In July, Bereal became the most downloaded social network among Apple users, overtaking Instagram and Tiktok. The application is distinguished by the “naturalness” of content and the absence of any processing from its competitors. Instead of a photograph with a clearly chosen angle and light, as on Instagram, you get a picture of your friends or people nearby in real time. Even the slogan of the application indicates its uniqueness - “not just the next social network” (Not Another Social Network). On social networks, Bereal also emphasizes the concept of something different from competitors: “Without filters, without subscribers, without advertising, without nonsense. Only your friends and nothing more. ” Yes, and the application developer himself - Alexis Barreia, positions Bereal as a lively replacement of Instagram: "A new and unique way to find out who your friends are actually."

Typically, such "unique" applications do not remain popular for long:

They do not change the methods of consumption of content, and interest in them quickly disappears quickly. So, last year, the sensational Clubhouse social network was popular for only a month: in February, the application had 9 million downloads, and in March only 2. Then the mediastartap attracted the attention of large social networks and similar audio rooms appeared in Telegram. Bereal was interested in META Corporation, which owns Instagram, and the company is already testing the Ig Candid Challenges functions. These "natural competitions" completely repeat the Bereal concept. Instagram has already copied competitors: short videos or an endless tape as in Tiktok - therefore, Candid Challenges may appear soon.