Can you relaunch authenticity? In 2022, BeReal felt like a glitch in the algorithm. Now it’s getting ready for a comeback.
Its premise was refreshingly simple: one random daily prompt, two unfiltered photos, zero curation. No endless scroll. No pressure to perform. Just a tiny window of digital honesty and it struck a chord.
The app surged in popularity, won Apple’s “App of the Year,” and was even parodied on SNL. For a moment, it was the cool alternative to everything we’d grown tired of in social media. But like most viral sensations, BeReal struggled to sustain the magic. Downloads dropped, usage plateaued, and in 2023, the app was sold to French gaming company Voodoo for €500 million.
Now, BeReal wants a second chance.
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At Cannes Lions this year, BeReal’s Managing Director Ben Moore shared the company’s comeback plan: a mix of product updates, grassroots marketing, and a renewed focus on Gen Z.
“We have people that are committed to building the next big thing with BeReal,” Moore said. “We can make something that really answers the demands of Gen Z, who are sick and tired of the filters, of the lenses, of the social pressure of posting something that’s not going to get them the level of views and likes they would want.”
BeReal 2.0: New Features, Old Mission?
Some of the app’s new features include:
- Nearby: a discovery tool that helps users connect with people in close proximity
- Affinity Matching: surfacing users with similar photo themes (dogs, travel, food, etc.)
- Ad Experiences designed to mimic organic posts rather than feel intrusive
On the marketing side, BeReal is leaning into:
- In-app promotion via Voodoo’s existing mobile games
- Campus ambassadors and college party sponsorships (entry requires downloading the app)
- Targeted campaigns to re-engage lapsed users
Moore claims the app still boasts around 40 million active users, with Japan, France, and the U.S. as its top markets. But according to Sensor Tower, year-to-date downloads are down 50% compared to last year.
The Real Challenge: Staying Real
BeReal’s appeal was never about features. It was about feeling. It created a shared cultural moment, a break in the hyper-edited digital stream, that felt rare, sincere, and (ironically) un-engineered.
That’s what makes this relaunch so tricky.
You can buy downloads. You can push features. But you can’t force authenticity especially not in a space where everything increasingly feels designed to grab attention.
“We live in an age of asinine algorithms and addictive social garbage,” said Gareth Jones, Chief Growth Officer at creative agency Ralph. “If BeReal can bring an element of humanity back to the social media space, this will create more success than any amount of marketing.”
In other words: if BeReal wants to matter again, it can’t just reintroduce itself as another product. It has to become a feeling again, one people want to share, not just use. Whether that’s possible in today’s attention economy remains to be seen.