BeReal: The honest social media platform

If you haven't downloaded BeReal yet, what are you waiting for?

‘Time to be real’ is the notification that, arguably, people get the most excited for every day.

Gen Z are obsessed with BeReal, and data has shown its monthly active users have increased by 315% already, just this year.

So, what actually is it?

The whole concept of the app is to post a photo of what you are doing at a specific time each day.

Whether you’re hungover in bed, out for a meal, or in the same spot in the library that you have been in for the past three days, you can let all your friends know using the app.

One good thing is that the time the notification appears is unpredictable because it’s different every day.

You can also post a photo on your front and back camera at the same time to show your contacts what you’re up to.

Gone are the days when people shared their Snapchat passwords with their best friends so they wouldn’t lose their streaks. Or when people would post on Facebook asking others to ‘like for a rate and comment x’.

TikTok and Instagram are still very popular, but the concept of BeReal is so unique that I think there is a gap in the market for this type of app.

The good thing about BeReal is that there is no room for filters and photoshop. You’re only given two minutes to take a photo of what you are genuinely doing without editing it to make it look better than it actually is.

Lauren Eckley, 24, a clinical research associate from Hertfordshire, said: “If you do it at the exact time, it’s a more realistic representation of your life.

“With other social media platforms like Instagram, people only post the best parts of their day, and, generally, the content is edited and only shows a fraction of that person’s actual reality.”

Personally, I love the app. I downloaded it last year, and now that it has become more popular, I am more connected than everto my friends by seeing what they're up to using this app.

As sad as it may seem, I do sometimes hope the notification comes when I’m in the middle of having my hair dyed or at a fancy restaurant to exaggerate how exciting my life is.

But at the end of the day, more and more people are downloading the app each day, and I don’t think it will be dying out anytime soon.

Edited by Jemma Snowdon