BeReal

BeReal burst onto the social media scene in 2020 with a premise so simple it felt almost radical: what if a social network just showed what people were actually doing? Co-founded by Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau in Paris, the app strips away every tool that mainstream social platforms provide for self-curation -- no filters, no editing, no carefully chosen angles, no follower counts. Instead, once per day at a random time, every user gets a two-minute window to capture a photo using both their front and rear cameras simultaneously. The result is an unvarnished snapshot of real life.

The app experienced explosive growth in 2022, reaching over 50 million downloads and winning Apple's iPhone App of the Year. Then came the inevitable plateau and decline that many trend-driven social apps face. Monthly active users dropped significantly through 2023 and early 2024. In June 2024, French mobile gaming giant Voodoo acquired BeReal for approximately EUR 500 million in a cash-and-earnout deal. Under Voodoo's ownership, the app has stabilized at around 40 million monthly active users globally and has begun monetizing through advertising, reaching profitability by the end of 2024.

How BeReal Actually Works

The core mechanic is deceptively simple but psychologically clever. At a random time each day (the same for all users in a region), BeReal sends a push notification: "Time to BeReal." You then have two minutes to open the app and take a photo. The app captures simultaneously from your front-facing and rear-facing cameras, producing a split image that shows both your face and what you are looking at. If you miss the two-minute window, you can still post, but your post will be marked as late, and your friends can see exactly how late you were.

You cannot see your friends' posts until you have shared your own for the day. This reciprocity mechanism prevents passive scrolling -- you have to participate to consume. There are no likes, no public follower counts, and no algorithmic feed. Posts appear in chronological order from your friends list. The previous day's posts disappear when the next day's notification arrives, creating a rolling 24-hour window of content. This ephemerality removes the pressure to maintain a curated archive or worry about old posts resurfacing.

RealMojis and Social Interaction

Instead of generic emoji reactions, BeReal introduced RealMojis -- selfie-based reactions that users take in the moment. When reacting to a friend's BeReal, you capture a quick photo of your facial expression and send it as a reaction. This extends the authenticity principle to interactions as well: rather than tapping a heart icon, you show your actual reaction. BeReal has also added features like the ability to react to RealMojis, creating chains of authentic visual responses between friends.

The app includes a Memories feature that creates a personal calendar of your past BeReals, visible only to you. Over time, this builds an honest visual diary of your year -- what you were actually doing on a random Tuesday in March, not a curated highlight reel. Many users report that looking back at their Memories is one of the most valued aspects of the app, precisely because the content is unplanned and genuine.

The Voodoo Acquisition and Monetization

When Voodoo acquired BeReal in mid-2024, the app was losing approximately EUR 2.6 million per month with no revenue model. Voodoo, known for its data-driven approach to mobile apps and games, moved quickly to implement "light monetization" through advertising. The strategy focused on in-feed ads that mimic BeReal's dual-camera aesthetic, keeping the ad format consistent with the user experience. Full-day brand takeovers were also introduced for premium advertisers.

By early 2025, BeReal had reached profitability, generating around USD 2 million per month in revenue. Voodoo also reduced the team size (approximately 30 employees were let go) and refocused on growth through both organic and paid marketing. The U.S. advertising platform launched in April 2025, with brands like Nike, Levi's, Netflix, and Amazon among the early advertisers. The monetization has been executed with relative restraint -- the core user experience remains ad-light compared to Instagram or TikTok.

Privacy and GDPR Compliance

BeReal is a French company (BeReal SAS) headquartered in Paris and now owned by Voodoo, also a French company. Both entities operate under French and EU data protection law. The app is GDPR compliant and provides standard EU data rights including access, deletion, and portability. Compared to US-based social networks like Instagram (Meta) or Snapchat (Snap Inc.), BeReal offers structurally stronger privacy protections because the corporate entity is governed by EU law rather than US law.

That said, BeReal is not a privacy-focused social network in the way that Signal or Threema are privacy-focused messaging apps. The app collects location data (optional), device information, and usage analytics. The advertising model inherently involves some degree of user profiling. However, the minimal feature set (no public profiles, no follower graphs, no browsing history) means there is fundamentally less data to collect than on platforms like Instagram or Facebook. The GDPR framework provides a regulatory floor that US platforms do not offer.

Cultural Impact and the Anti-Instagram Movement

BeReal did not just create an app -- it catalyzed a broader cultural conversation about authenticity on social media. Instagram responded by launching its own "Candid Challenges" feature (essentially copying BeReal's random notification mechanic). TikTok introduced TikTok Now with a similar dual-camera concept. The fact that the two largest social platforms in the world copied BeReal's core feature validated the thesis that users were hungry for less performative social experiences.

For Generation Z users, who grew up with the pressure of Instagram aesthetics and have watched influencer culture evolve into a profession, BeReal offered relief. The app became popular on college campuses and among friend groups who wanted to stay connected without the anxiety of maintaining a social media presence. The low-pressure, low-effort nature of a single daily post replaced the constant creation cycle that platforms like Instagram and TikTok encourage.

Limitations and Criticisms

BeReal's greatest strength is also its limitation. The single daily post mechanic means the app offers minimal content and limited reasons to return outside the notification window. Some users find the concept compelling in theory but struggle with sustained daily engagement. The two-minute window can feel inconvenient when it arrives during meetings, classes, or other inopportune moments. Late posts carry a social stigma within the app, creating a different kind of pressure even as the app removes others.

The lack of discovery features means BeReal only works well when you have friends actively using it. Unlike Instagram or TikTok, where you can browse content from strangers, BeReal is entirely friend-based. If your friend group stops posting, the app becomes empty. This network effect dependence makes BeReal's long-term retention challenging, which contributed to the user decline in 2023-2024 before the Voodoo acquisition.

BeReal in 2026

Under Voodoo's ownership, BeReal is evolving while trying to preserve the authentic spirit that made it popular. The addition of advertising has been relatively unobtrusive. New features are being tested to increase engagement and retention without compromising the core daily-photo mechanic. The 40 million monthly active user base, while down from the 2022 peak, represents a stable and engaged community. Voodoo has indicated that further feature development and market expansion are planned.

Who Should Choose BeReal

BeReal is for anyone tired of the performative treadmill of mainstream social media. If you want to stay connected with close friends through genuine daily moments rather than curated highlights, BeReal delivers that experience better than any other platform. It works best when your friend group is actively using it -- convince five to ten friends to join and commit to daily posts, and BeReal becomes a surprisingly meaningful way to stay in each other's lives. For European users specifically, the French ownership and GDPR compliance provide a privacy advantage over US-based social networks.