BeReal. How does it work? App insights.

What is BeReal and why the hype?

The answer is basically very simple: BeReal stands for the counter-movement to the excessive social networks we know today, such as TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, etc. (just to name a few).

The posted content is visible to your networked followers/friends for one day only, similar to Snapchat or WhatsApp and Instagram stories.

So far so good, none of this is new.

So what makes this novel network so special?

With a daily prompt, you get 2 minutes to take a snap with the front and rear cameras in the BeReal app. As long as the 2 minutes are running, you have time. If you don’t like the pictures (front and rear camera) you can take a new snapshot. After 2 minutes the time for your post runs out. Here are a few of my posts:

The most important BeReal functions in a nutshell:

• You will receive a daily notification at an unknown and randomly generated time as a request to post a BeReal photo.
• No one knows or can predict exactly when the call will appear.
• BeReal notifications are sent to all users in the respective BeReal time zone at the same time. (America, Europe, East Asia, West Asia)
• To make sure that you receive BeReal notifications at your time of day, you can set BeReal to your time zone.
• You can create only 1 BeReal post per day.
• Opening the app, you have exactly two minutes to take a photo.
• If you miss the BeReal time, you can still catch up. Your post will be marked with the missed hours / minutes (e.g. 15min Late).
• The images are not editable and are posted as they were taken.
• You can only see other people’s posts if you also post on the same day.
• You can react and comment on BeReal posts.
• Of course, you can report unwanted posts and delete your own misadventures at any time.

BeReal times are completely automatically and randomly generated.

Here is an overview of past BeReal notification times from 07/14–06/09/2022:

Looking at the previous times of BeReal notifications, it can be estimated that the BeReal time window, i.e. the time frame for BeReal notifications, is approximately between 10:00 am and 11:59 pm.

If we look at the notification history so far, we can see that BeReal usually sends notifications in the afternoon or evening. Sometimes, the BeReal app notification may appear in the morning as well (although this is rather uncommon).

As can be seen in the table above, BeReal tends to stick to certain hours over days. For example, you can see that notifications are sent around 23:00 on consecutive days. So, BeReal times are less unpredictable than probably suspected.

What if I miss BeReal?

If you miss posting your BeReal photo right away, it’s no big deal. You can always post a late BeReal. Your post will then be marked with the missed hours / minutes (e.g. 15min Late). You can only see the BeReals of your friends when you have made up for it.

My personal opinion: Non-binding, honest, cool!

I welcome apps / media that hold up a mirror to us without all the media bells and whistles.

For me personally, the main and most important part of the app is that it doesn’t offer any image editing functions or texts. The pictures are taken and posted, that’s it. I think that’s a nice change that takes a lot of pressure off. Even if you want to edit the pictures, you simply couldn’t (post).

This starting point puts us all in the same boat and makes the app and the user experience very neutral and down-to-earth.

The fact that the content is not very lurid and the posts from friends remain rather clear means that you don’t get lost in a timeline for hours on end. This creates time for more important things in life.

I hope I was able to give some insight into the BeReal app!

Let me know what you think of this article!
Regards and see you soon 💪🏼

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