You may have heard your child or their friends talking about the new social media app, BeReal.
The French social media platform has recently topped the free download charts of iOS, surpassing competition from the likes of TikTok, Facebook and Twitter.
What is BeReal?
A mobile phone app, it notifies users when the two-minute time limit to post begins – ⚠️ Time to BeReal. ⚠️
In the app users take pictures of what they are doing when the notification goes off. The app is designed to give a realistic representation of what people are actually doing, rather than seeing the polished version that sometimes comes across on social media.
There are no filters or other editing functions enabled in the app, and pictures from both your front and back cameras are taken at the same time. This means that your followers see both your face and whatever is in front of you at the time you take the photo.
You may take as many retakes as you like during the two-minute window. When your post is uploaded, it will look something like the image above.
If you click on the smaller photo at the top left in the app, the photos will switch in size so the smaller one becomes the main image.
The app has a newsfeed function, like most social media apps, but you can only see what others have posted after you have posted.
This can pressure young people to upload a photo as they may really want to see what their friends are up to, but won’t necessarily feel in the mood to upload.
Are BeReal accounts private?
There are privacy and digital wellbeing concerns which should be taken into consideration before downloading BeReal.
When setting up an account, users will be asked to set their account to “Private” or “Discovery”.
Discovery mode sets your account publicly, and places your post each day to the “Discovery” newsfeed, which any user of the app worldwide can access and view, react to and comment on your post.
“Private” mode ensures that users who aren’t friends with you on the app cannot view or comment on your posts.
On all account types, users cannot see your previous posts – they are only live for 24 hours, a bit like “Story” posts on apps like Instagram and Snapchat.
Also, users cannot be found unless their username is directly searched for, or a user sees a reaction or comment from yourself to a mutual friend.
However, there are some privacy drawbacks.
If your account is set to Discovery then users will be able to add you as a friend or react to your post directly from the Discovery newsfeed.
Also, you must tap the location icon before you make a post to disable the app from displaying your exact location on a map – there is no way to permanently disable your location being shown, unless you turn off location tracking in your phone’s settings.
Your account could be suggested by BeReal for users with mutual friends with you to add.
Digital Wellbeing
Many users will appreciate BeReal’s messaging. The app aims to set itself apart from other apps through getting to know “Your Friends for Real”.
Tapping into the link between self-esteem and social media, BeReal aims to provide “A new and unique way to discover who your friends really are in their daily life.”
Childnet’s resources aim to help young people about whether online life reflects real life, supporting them to reflect on when online content crosses the line, and how to boost self-esteem.
The app doesn’t have likes, messaging, profiles or followers – just “react” options, comment sections and friends lists – departing from potentially harmful conventions of other social media.
Whilst BeReal aims to champion the issue of self-esteem, there are still ways in which users can feel under pressure from the app.
In order to see other people’s posts, a user will have to make a post – this has potential to be against their will.
Moreover, the two-minute window may add pressure for a young person to post if they are in a setting where using a phone is inappropriate – such as in a classroom or crossing the road.
Luckily, you can wait to post until a time which suits you, although others are able to see that you have posted late.
Posting late has the potential to undermine the “BeReal” messaging as people may wait to post until they are doing something interesting that day. It is important to talk to your young person about this pressure to post, and to reassure them that they do not need to post in situations that are unsafe, or which put their privacy at risk.
Safety Features
If you think a post is inappropriate, you can report it to BeReal or the user themselves – just click “report” in the settings of the photo or of the user profile.
There is no block button as of yet for iOS, but there is for Android.
If you have the app and find that after you’ve reported a user you wish to block them, the best you can do is unfriend them:
- Click on the “Add friends” section
- Click on the cross sign next to the user you wish to unfriend
- Click delete
What age restrictions are on BeReal?
The age restriction on the app is 13+. However, parents and carers should know that Discovery mode is unmoderated and inappropriate content which hasn’t been reported yet may make its way on to the page.
There is currently no parental control on the app which will allow you to disable your child from viewing the Discovery newsfeed.
FAQs
Here is some further insight as to the some of the most asked questions regarding BeReal.
“Can BeReal see screenshots?”
Users get notified when someone takes a screenshot of their post. They are then only able to unlock how many people and who has captured it by sharing their post to another social media app.
“What time is the BeReal notification?”
The notification to upload your BeReal is completely random, and will potentially appear up towards midnight.
“Are BeReal comments public?”
Remember that there is no private messaging function on BeReal, and that if you comment on another user’s photo, then their friends can see your comment, even if your account is set to “Private”.
This also means that if you are commenting on users’ posts who have enabled Discovery mode, your comments and reactions are public.
