BeReal unveils its latest attempt to Be Relevant again

Has BeReal’s gimmick lost its novelty for you? It’s desperately trying to win you back.

Today (May 1), BeReal launched RealPeople, what the app calls “a curated timeline of the most interesting people” to users in the UK. It will be available globally “very soon.”

While the new feature sounds opposed to the anti-influencer platform, in a press release BeReal explains, “RealPeople isn’t about influencing, amassing likes and comments, or promoting brands. You won’t see perfect photoshopped pictures, product recommendations, or ads disguised as posts.” The app ensures users that RealPeople will be a combination of people you know and don’t and that it’s an attempt to show that public figures are real and boring too. OK…

The update sounds like the feed on every other social media platform minus filters and sponsored posts. It comes on the heels of another update unveiled last week in the UK, Bonus BeReal. The feature is now available in the U.S. Bonus BeReal allows you to post an additional two BeReals throughout the day — but only if you post your first during the allotted two-minute window. It encourages users to post authentically once a day and share two more highlights. But it distracts from why users enjoyed the app in the first place, that you only needed to go on once a day. Bonus BeReal creeps into the tired Instagram story territory.

The platform also recently partnered with Spotify to allow users to share what song they’re listening to with their dual camera selfie.

These back-to-back updates are yet another effort to retain users after BeReal’s daily users dropped from 20 million in October 2022 to 10.4 million in February 2023. BeReal first gained popularity in the U.S. on college campuses at the beginning of 2022, and from there it skyrocketed in relevancy across demographics, peaking in September 2022 with 12 million monthly downloads. Before this slew of changes, BeReal made no significant updates to the app.

Now it’s playing catch-up.