With the developers trying to discover the next viral social media platform for Gen Z, there are many popular social media apps that disappear. Most apps die before they reach Instagram’s status. Snapchat. BeReal is one example of a new app that’s quickly gaining momentum and trying to make it mainstream.

BeReal, which was established in 2020, asks its users to submit one photo unaltered per day at what appears to be random times. It could be at 8:48 today or 11:48 tomorrow. Before it becomes late, users have just two minutes to upload and take a photo.

Once they have shared, they will be able see the post of their friends and can comment on it or respond to with an Emoji. You don’t get other sanctions if your friend posts a late picture. It uses the app’s front and back cameras to provide a clear view of what is happening in that instant.

It’s ridiculous, but it’s a better way to communicate than Instagram and Snapchat.” Emily told CNBC that she’s used the app for two months. She agreed not to use her last name. It’s a great way to see what my friends are doing, even though they don’t talk on a daily basis.

BeReal was founded in France. This app ranked among the top 20 in the Apple App Store’s Top Free Apps List. The company also ranked fourth in social media, just behind Only Facebook’sThese are the three main apps.

SensorTower estimates that BeReal currently has 10.7 million worldwide installs. According to the company, April was its record month. It reached 3.6 million users, an increase of 157% over March. BeReal has a program to send high school and college ambassadors, likely contributing to the company’s user growth.

It is completely free to use and does not have ads at the moment. This makes it difficult for investors to determine the best way of monetizing the app, which is often true with new social media apps. Investors still like the app enough to invest at an estimated valuation of more than $600 million. Business Insider reportedThis was earlier in the month.

BeReal spokespeople declined to comment on this story, except for sharing general information about the app.

To see the real deal and share my experiences, I downloaded BeReal. There are only three tabs in the app, making it easy to navigate right from the beginning. The app has three tabs: a place where friends can be added, a general page which includes photos of your friends as well as a discovery option. You also have your profile page.

Your photo collection is stored on your profile

BeReal prompted me after downloading and selecting a username to take a photograph. Because it took two minutes for me, I didn’t have much time to reflect on my surroundings or decide what I wanted. I took a snap, cringed slightly and carried on. The app was basically an introduction to the basics of using it. Then I went to my profile and uploaded a picture.

My profile page contains a calendar that includes my photos for the previous month. It’s an easy way to see my day-to-day activities.

It is a great social experience

After creating my profile I was able to add friends. It’s clear that I don’t have many friends on BeReal. You can share your candid moments with friends on the app, which is intended to make it a social platform. For privacy reasons I did not want to upload my phone’s contacts list. You may also search for friends by username.

The only way to see the posts of your friends is if you also share them that day. You can comment on other people’s posts and respond with a RealMoji, a photo of yourself mimicking an emoji.

There are still people you can meet.

To see the activities of other users around the world, tap on the “discovery” tab at the top. Scrolling through, I found people from Ireland, Turkey, and Pennsylvania.

That feature doesn’t interest me at all. Instead, I would rather see friends’ pictures and let them know a little bit about what I do. BeReal allows you to make your accounts private so that only friends can view them.

Since it is less serious than many other social networks, I don’t feel the need send out my posts to people all over the world.

The bottom line

BeReal’s popularity aside, the experience has been quite frustrating for me. Since my friends are more into Instagram than our group chats, I haven’t seen much of the benefit to using BeReal for less that two weeks.

Also, the app seems a little glitchy. The app was glitchy one day. It was 22 hours later than I had posted the photo. It happened again just a few days later. It happened again when I was on the phone with my friend. His prompt never came. Both of us ended up writing two hours late.

Some glitches can be forgiven given the rapid growth of the product. They still hinder a great user experience.

Although I still use the app to take my daily photos, I can’t see myself staying on it for much longer. It’s fun to send random photos in group chats so that I am satisfied.

BeReal does have its fans, and this platform is a great way to connect. It’s not a bad concept — it’s just not for me.

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