BeReal

BeReal is a photo app that pings everyone at the same random time each day and gives you two minutes to post an unfiltered photo of whatever you’re doing. “Did you BeReal yet?” was a common question in 2022.

What BeReal means

When the “Time to BeReal” alert goes off, you take a photo with your front and back cameras at once: your face, plus whatever is in front of you. No filters, no editing, and if you post late your friends can see that you did. The point is real life instead of a polished highlight reel.

As a verb, to BeReal is to post on the app. Critics noted that all that authenticity sometimes just meant mundane: a lot of laptops, desks and ceilings.

Examples

• “BeReal went off during my exam. My friends got a very stressed face.”
• “Did you BeReal yet?”
• “My BeReal is my ceiling again. Living the dream.”

Where it came from

BeReal is a French app released in 2020, developed by Alexis Barreyat, a former GoPro employee, and Kévin Perreau. The name is also a pun on “B-reel,” unpolished extra footage. It took off in early and mid-2022, spreading on college campuses partly through a paid ambassador program, and jumped from 21.6 million to 73.5 million users between July and August that year. Use fell in 2023, and by early 2024 it was down to about 23 million users. It’s now owned by Voodoo.

Related terms

• Photo dump: a casual carousel of pictures.
• Finsta: a private second Instagram account.
• IRL: in real life.
• Main character: acting like the star of your own story.

More words from online life are in our internet slang guide.