BeReal, the social media platform that lets users post real-time, unfiltered photos at a random time of the day now allows its users to see what their favourite singers and athletes are also up to.
In what seems to be a ploy to get their dwindling active user base to interact with the app, BeReal users can see what their favourite actor, singer, activist, or athlete, aka “RealPeople”, BeReal’s name for these folks, are doing at a specific time during the day.
From February 6, users will be able to see “unfiltered glimpses” of a range of famous people through the discovery tab. Brands can also jump on the BeReal-wagon and post as RealBrands.
In a blog post announcing the new update, the company said, “We know what you’re thinking… ‘How does something like this with BeReal’s mission?’
“Our mission is to create a more authentic world and keep you connected with the people you really care about. We believe that by showing that notable people and brands are actually people just like us — equally boring and interesting at different times — we help reset and improve some of the negativity that has come from modern social platforms.”
Explaining the new feature, the company said, “This curated section within the Discovery tab allows interesting and intriguing people to share their BeReal with the entire community.”
Digging a bit deeper, to qualify as a RealPeople or RealBrand account, the French company said they “must be a notable person or brand and have an existing BeReal account”.
Users can interact with celebrities’ posts by leaving a RealMoji, however, BeReal said they can’t see reactions left by other users.
Once named the best iPhone app by Apple in 2022, BeReal’s active users have been plummeting over the past year since the popularity of the app peaked in late 2022. According to a report published late last year, the amount of active users has dropped 18 per cent, however, BeReal says these numbers are, for a lack of a better term NotReal.
This new feature may be the elixir the brand needs to gain back its users, only time will tell.