BeReal: the social network that doesn't reward showing off

In a world where most social platforms want you to shine, BeReal does something radical: it asks you to post exactly what you’re doing right now.

No edits. No prep. No performance. 

Just show up.

Every day, without warning, the app reminds you “it’s time to BeReal”.

No filters, no planning, no second takes.

You pull out your phone and snap two photos at once: one of your face, one of what you’re doing. Maybe you're brushing your teeth. Maybe you're lost in thought on a bus. Doesn't matter.

The point is: it's you, right then.

You don’t get to polish it. You can’t preview it. The app doesn’t even let you see what your friends posted until you’ve posted your own. So you’re not just scrolling, you’re sharing. This creates a tiny moment of togetherness. It nudges everyone to participate, just once a day. Not out of pressure, but because it feels like a ritual. A kind of daily truth.

You also won’t find likes or view counts. No numbers screaming how popular something is. Just real moments from real people. Friends, not followers. Small, not loud. That’s a big difference.

And if you’re busy when the notification hits? You can still post later, but the app stamps it as “late.” Not to shame you, but to keep things honest. That honesty flows through the entire experience. BeReal doesn’t reward carefully staged joy.

It’s about the small, messy, regular stuff: sitting in a parked car, cooking dinner, watching your cat.

There’s also a Discovery feed where you can see how strangers around the world live their lives, but only if they’ve chosen to share them publicly. It feels more like flipping through a photo diary than doom-scrolling. No perfectly timed dance trends. Just little windows into lives you’ll never plan to visit.

What BeReal really offers is this: relief.

From performance. From perfection. From the idea that every moment needs to be content. And maybe that’s why so many people are drawn to it. Because for once, a social app isn’t asking you to be more.

It’s asking you to just be.