BeReal

See also: Bereal

English

Etymology

From be real, intended as a play on words: its primary reference relates to its focus on users uploading unpolished photos, while also being a pun on the term B-reel. The app was developed by Alexis Barreyat, a former employee of GoPro, and Kevin Perreau.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

BeReal

1. (social media) A French social media app, released in 2020, which prompts users once each day to take photos of whatever they are doing using the front and back cameras of their phones, that received Apple's iPhone App of the Year in 2022.
   • 2022 April 6, Carson Lott, “New social media app asks users to ‘BeReal’”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎^[1], archived from the original on 2023-09-30:

     A French programmer and entrepreneur created the social media app BeReal in 2020 to combat what he saw as an increasingly unhealthy and materialistic social media landscape. Seemingly out of nowhere, BeReal has made its way to college campuses.

   • 2022 October 13, “On BeReal, is it possible to actually be real?”, in CNN‎^[2]:

     And it’s been successful, with about 40 million installs of BeReal this year alone, according to data from Apptopia, which tracks and analyzes mobile app performance.

   • 2022 April 8, “Five Facts to Know About BeReal App”, in Yahoo! Sports‎^[3]:

     But on BeReal this is much harder to do as users will be notified how many retakes it took to get the perfect shot. They will also be notified if the photographs are late in being posted.

   • 2023 May 4, Ysabel Gerrard, “BeReal is now in freefall. Why are new social media apps doomed to fail?”, in The Guardian‎^[4], archived from the original on 2023-05-04:

     People may have grown tired of BeReal’s authenticity facade. […] BeReal held a mirror – or at least a front-facing camera – up to its users, encouraging reflection on our self-presentations.

Noun

BeReal (plural BeReals)

1. (social media) A post published on the French social media app BeReal, consisting of photos from both the front and back cameras of a user's phone, providing a visual depiction of what they are doing in that moment. [from 2020]
   • 2022 April 16, Wynne Davis, “BeReal is Gen Z's new favorite social media app. Here's how it works”, in NPR‎^[5]:

     Once a day you get a notification from the app. It tells you that it's time to post your BeReal for the day and you have two minutes to do so. […] Users can also see where their friends are on a map and discover other publicly posted BeReals.

   • 2022 May 13, R. E. Hawley, “BeReal and the Fantasy of an Authentic Online Life”, in The New Yorker‎^[6]:

     While scrolling through BeReals in the past few weeks, I’ve occasionally felt gripped by loneliness. Seeing others partying, hanging out with friends, or curled up on the couch with their significant others, framed as everyday slices of life, elicited a more intense fear of missing out than I’ve ever felt on Instagram.

   • 2022 August 13, Anna Iovine, “Why are BeReal selfies so unflattering?”, in Mashable‎^[7]:

     BeReal is driven by the desire to be "authentic" online, which is oxymoronic even on the app itself. For example, you can post late BeReals when you actually want to document your current surroundings, and you can retake photos as well.

   • 2022 November 8, Allison Theresa, “Sadie Robertson Huff Preaches Submissive Womanhood. Her Message Is Uncomfortably Compelling.”, in Cosmopolitan‎^[8]:

     This BeReal is going to be epic. Worshippers in the seats around me swipe open the app, hold their phones high, and angle for the perfect two-way shot that will frame their selfies with the famous figure who brought them here tonight: Sadie Robertson Huff—reality star, mega-influencer, and America’s foremost spiritual ambassador for feminine submission.

   • 2024 January 26, Sabrina Ortiz, “What is BeReal? Everything to know about this unfiltered social media app”, in ZDNet Business‎^[9], archived from the original on 2024-01-26:

     What happens to your BeReal after you post it?
     All of your BeReals are archived for you to see. One of the best features of BeReal is being able to see a collection of your daily posts.

Verb

BeReal (third-person singular simple present BeReals, present participle BeRealing, simple past and past participle BeRealed)

1. (intransitive) To use the social media app BeReal.
   • 2022 November 4, Daisy Jones, “How to Look Good on BeReal”, in Vice‎^[10]:

     BeReal loves to notify me when I’m doing something mundane like heating up beans in the microwave or wiping down my salt lamp with a damp cloth. This can be solved very simply by turning off your notifications and only BeReal-ing when you’re doing something genuinely interesting like, I don’t know, singing karaoke or holding a puppy.