In a world that revolves around social media, it is nearly impossible to tell what is fake and what is real. Platforms that were once harmless, such as Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, have been taken over by influencers, editing, and the desire to be perfect. Despite its release in December 2019, the French social media app BeReal gained popularity in 2022 and changed the modern perception of what social media has to be. 

According to its creators, Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau, BeReal is a “new and unique way to discover who your friends really are in their daily life.” They take pride in the fact that at a random time every day, users have two minutes to post a BeReal. To post a BeReal, users have to take a picture capturing what both the front and back cameras see, making it nearly impossible to edit or falsify what is in the picture – the keyword being nearly. Since users are able to post a “late” after the two minute warning, posting a ‘BeFake’ while doing something more interesting has also gained popularity.

 Whether a BeReal or a BeFake is posted, the dual-camera feature allows users to see what their friends are doing at any given moment, helping to erase the idea of perfection on social media. Without the pressure of likes or views, BeReal encourages its users to be their honest and true selves on social media, which assists the creators’ desire to make social media more casual.