In today’s social media ecosystem, replication is the ultimate praise, and it appears that the growing app BeReal is the latest app to get attention and a slew of ‘compliments.’

According to data.ai analysis, BeReal has already topped 10 million cumulative downloads and is expected to acquire substantial traction until 2022.


As reported by data.ai:

“In Q1 2022 alone, BeReal saw 3.3 million downloads worldwide, up 390% from Q4 2021.”

BeReal is built on a random prompt that is delivered to all users at a different time each day, asking them to share what they’re up to, with a 2-minute time constraint to offer an update.

The app is being heralded as the latest rejection of carefully edited and sculpted social media profiles, with the immediacy of the sharing process removing the ability for major modification or curating of your look.

And, as one might imagine, given the attention that BeReal is receiving, Instagram is already prowling about its flanks, searching for ways to use its major aspects to counteract the app’s rise and increase its own performance.

Instagram has introduced a new ‘Dual’ camera option that allows users to capture both material and their response at the same time by utilizing their phone’s front and rear cameras at the same time.

Which many have compared to BeReal’s UI:


Instagram is now developing another feature that appears to be inspired by BeReal:

As seen in the below example, uploaded by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi, Instagram is testing a new feature that allows you to add a QR code to your posts, which other users may then scan to see where you are at any given time on a map.

When you combine that with your Dual camera upload, you’re effectively mimicking BeReal’s own map capability, which allows users to show their friends where they are when they publish a BeReal update.

This appears to be quite troublesome, considering that you could possibly disclose this information publicly based on the existing capabilities depicted in this image.

Of course, the idea is that you would just share your location information with your friends, and IG may be able to incorporate this as a restriction so that individuals don’t wind up exposing their home location to the globe.