Let’s just be honest, let’s just be real. Students have taken a liking to a new social media app, BeReal.

BeReal was created in January 2020, but has recently risen to fame in 2022. The app got most of its attention after being shared through the already-popular social media app TikTok.

The app’s popularity soared in the summer of 2022, ranking #1 in social networking and receiving a 4.8 star review on the Apple app store.

BeReal is described as “Not Another Social Network” on the app store. Some consider BeReal to be a more intimate and less fake form of social media.

But how does BeReal work? Each day at a random different time, BeReal users receive a notification stating, “Time to BeReal. 2 min left to capture a BeReal and see what your friends are up to.”

When the notification to “BeReal” goes off, you have 2 minutes to capture a picture of what you’re doing. When you open the app, you take a picture of what you’re doing with your back camera, then the app automatically switches to the front camera. It then shares the pictures with all your friends on BeReal. The exact timestamp of when you took the BeReal is displayed with your post. Location is also an option that can be shared with each post.

The purpose of this app is to capture a more “intimate” and “authentic” version of your life. No editing or filters go into posting on BeReal. Users have less control over what is captured and posted. 

The spontaneity of the BeReal notification is the one of the biggest components of the app’s uniqueness. Early in the morning before you even wake up, in the middle of class, or when you’re getting ready for bed are all possibilities. But even if you’re late to the notification, you can still take the pictures. 

Opinions on the app are still somewhat mixed, as some people don’t enjoy the concept of the app. Brianna Melchor, a Waipahu High School freshman, says that she doesn’t like the two-minute timer you’re given to take the picture. “I’m being honest about where I am, but I might as well post a picture that isn’t blurry and unappealing,” Melchor says.

Whether you would rather stick with more typical social media apps, or would prefer something a little newer and more authentic, it’s good to BeReal sometimes.