We live in strange times. Instagram influencers want the social network that launched them to stardom to stop copying TikTok, TikTok enjoys the attention of Gen Z on its app ( except in the US, where a veteran triumphs ), and new social networks emerge who in turn want to differentiate themselves from Instagram and its world of color and fantasy. More and more people are wondering what BeReal is, the alternative social network to Instagram ‘s posture that is beginning to attract more and more followers in Spain.
BeReal seeks to differentiate itself from Instagram and TikTok , and in the AppStore they even add a warning: “BeReal will not make you famous, if you want to become an influencer you can go back to Instagram and TikTok”. Although this may be true, those who have catapulted BeReal to fame this year are top-level influencers such as Rosalía, current queen of virality in Spain, or Tyler, The Creator, another regular user of the platform.
HOW BEREAL WORKS
The doubt about how BeReal works arises as soon as the application is installed, since the user quickly receives a notification telling him that he has two minutes to capture his BeReal. This alarmist warning opens a window of time for you to take a photo that your mobile will capture with its two cameras, the rear one and the selfie camera, being able to share with the whole world (or just with your friends) what you are doing at that very moment . The BeReals you make can be shared directly on other social networks like Snapchat , Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, in addition to being able to download them to your phone.
This narrow margin of time that BeReal provides to upload the content seeks to complicate the excess production that photos have today on Instagram . The eccentric poses and crazy filters are over, simply because there are none in BeReal. Only one photo is published per day, thus maintaining a greater ‘purity’ compared to other networks where content creators polish their photos and videos down to the smallest detail.
In case a user does not publish a photo when they receive the notification , nothing happens, since they can publish it later. This makes many decide to wait for something worth publishing to happen one day (taking a photo of the desktop while working will be very real, but not very interesting to the world).
In order for the user to be able to see other people’s BeReals (‘Discovery’ section), they will first have to upload their own. When you see them, you can react with a Realmoji, you will no longer be able to send the typical and almost automatic ‘Like’, but you will have to send your real reaction taken with your camera.
HOW TO CREATE A USER ACCOUNT IN BEREAL
Those interested in finding out how to create a BeReal user account will not have too much difficulty. When you install the application and skip the first messages that briefly explain how the platform works, the steps to follow will be shown. You have to add the full name, a date of birth, associate a phone number (you will receive a code to continue with the registration) and choose a username. Nothing about the other Wednesday in terms of social networks .
Once installed and with our active user, we can proceed to publish our first BeReal without filters and hardly any time to prepare something original . At the moment, this social network is full of test photos (landscapes, desks, rooms…) but the most ‘veteran’ users are already beginning to show a surprising mastery of this new landscape and selfie photography format. Will BeReal come out on top or will it be another fad that some will try to squeeze in while they can?