BeReal, a new cat to peel for Instagram (but this time also for TikTok)
From 10,000 daily active users to over 15 million in a year, the most downloaded app of the summer continues its rise and threatens the “old” Instagram and TikTok who clumsily run for cover. Facts, numbers and news about BeReal. Rising star or flash in the pan?
No poses, filters and preparation but only authenticity and spontaneity. These are the commandments of BeReal, the French app that has been challenging Instagram and TikTok for a couple of years now. But if Mark Zuckerberg's social network is considered by many to be at the end of the line because it tried to become the bad copy of its rival TikTok, even the Chinese social network begins to fear the rise of the latter and commits the same faux pas as Instagram.
HOW BEReal WORKS
A sudden notification, two minutes to take a picture and share it in real time with friends. But no likes or comments, much less time to put on a set or make up. No matter what you are doing, if you want to see photos of your friends there is no choice but to show yourself for who you are at that precise moment. It is no coincidence that the alert that arrives says: “It's time to BeReal”.
THE NUMBERS OF BeReal
The app created by Alexis Barreyat, at the time 26 years old, started quietly in 2020 and then climbed the download charts and conquered Generation Z , or those born between 1997 and 2012. In July, with more than 30 million download, it was the most downloaded app.
According to the Financial Times , in one year it went from 10,000 daily active users to over 15 million, exceeding internal targets.
And in June, it raised $ 30 million. The valuation was not disclosed, but several sources told the business newspaper that it is around $ 600 million.
TIKTOK AND THE FEAR OF LOSING GEN Z
Competitors, as well as influencers, obviously fear the app's success. And if recently Instagram was punished by users who accused it of wanting to mimic TikTok, now the ByteDance social network seems to be living the same nightmare. And to run for cover, he follows in the footsteps of Zuckerberg's social network.
HOW TIKTOK WILL COPY BeReal
TikTok will launch the TikTok Now feature shortly. Users, as with BeReal, will suddenly receive a daily notification asking them to shoot a 10-second video or take a photo to share immediately with whomever they want. The time allowed will be 3 minutes instead of 2.
Also in this case the camera will shoot simultaneously both from the rear camera (showing what is in front of us) and from the front one (immortalizing our face).
PRIVACY AND MINORS
The first tests will begin in the coming weeks also in Italy. To protect the youngest, we read on the TikTok website , the under 16s will have private sharing by default, while young people between 13 and 15 years old will be able to receive comments only from friends. Minors will not be able to share the contents in the Explore section.
Security is something BeReal will need to improve sooner or later because, the FT notes, it does not have its own large-scale content moderation team, but relies on automatic filtering, which may not be enough to control content. offensive.
INSTAGRAM LOSES THE HAIR BUT NOT THE VICE
According to some indiscretions reported by the computer scientist Alessandro Paluzzi and reported by The Verge , even Instagram would be planning something not to be left behind. The new IG Candid function, in fact, should ask users to take a photo at random times of the day and within a time window of 2 minutes.
THE BUSINESS MODEL OF BeReal
Access to BeReal will remain free but, as stated in the FT , the company is evaluating the possibility of adding some paid features in order to avoid Instagram-style advertising.
"The approach – specifies the article – is probably similar to that of Discord, the social platform used by players and cryptocurrency enthusiasts, which requires a monthly subscription starting at $ 2.99 for bonus content such as digital stickers" .
It seems, in fact, that BeReal executives want to avoid the pitfalls of big US rivals by keeping a small team – currently 40 people in the headquarters in Paris – focused on product improvement rather than collecting large sums from venture capitalists to pursue global expansion. .
FORECASTS ON BeReal
The priority for the app seems to be solving some technical problems caused by the massive surge in popularity but, apart from that, insiders predict that it will reach tens of millions of people by the end of the year.
And, therefore, with all due respect to Instagram and TikTok, it seems that BeReal is here to stay.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/bereal-una-nuova-gatta-da-pelare-per-instagram-ma-stavolta-anche-per-tiktok/ on Mon, 19 Sep 2022 13:18:31 +0000.