By: Em Barry

The new social media app sweeping the globe is BeReal, which was originally created in 2020 by French developers Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau. Every day at a random time, users receive a notification to take a picture of whatever they’re doing within two minutes of receiving the notification.

As of November, the app is the number one on the Apple app store in social networking apps, topping giants such as Facebook and Instagram. According to the creators of the app, BeReal is “A new and unique way to discover who your friends really are in their daily life.” The app advertises itself as being “anti-Instagram”.

As Jaxson Kauffman, ’24, explains, “I like that I post something every day so you can see the in-between points from when I usually post.” He also says it’s interesting to see what his friends are up to when the notifications are sent out. The spontaneity of the notification can result in some funny BeReals and some students are even asking their teachers to feature in their BeReal post. Many students say that the app has achieved its goal of encouraging people to show their everyday, spontaneous lives. 

While BeReal might be accruing millions of downloads every day, it’s not without problems. One common complaint from students about the app is that you are still allowed to post your BeReal after the notification, which allows people to be disingenuous about what they are doing. “I don’t like how you can post after [the notification] goes out or if you exit out of the app you can put off the post for later because it defeats the purpose of the app,” Linda Weigang, ’23, explains. 

BeReal is an app aimed at helping people connect with their friends by giving glimpses into their everyday lives. However, users are still allowed to post late. Though the app is not foolproof, many students agree that it is still fun to see glimpses into their friends’ lives.