The tagline of social media app Instagram is “Capture and share the world’s moments.” However, with 71% of Instagram users editing their selfies according to phone case seller Case24, it appears that making their moments look good is more important to posters than capturing them. Reversing this trend may be the reason why social media app BeReal is taking an unorthodox approach to posting.

BeReal is an app that was released in 2020 but, according to NPR, started gaining traction in 2022. On BeReal, users receive a notification at a random point in the day, starting a two-minute countdown for them to post. After opening BeReal, they must post a photo using both their forward and backward-facing camera, and if they fail to post within the two-minute window, the app sends a notification to their friends and officially notes how late their post was. BeReal users cannot view their friends’ posts until they post first, nor can they edit their photos with filters.

“I’m lying in bed – oop, a BeReal,” senior Dylan Gilkey said. “I like how none of it is edited. You have an opportunity to delay posting the photo, [but people will say] it wasn’t very ‘BeReal’ of you.”

It doesn’t matter if one is at a concert, the beach, in their bed or in a classroom. BeReal will make users post at that time, and it will track how much time has passed after the initial notification if one decides they don’t feel like posting. Unlike Instagram, where one can wait to post their photos, this means BeReal posters must post what they are doing at the time of posting, creating more authenticity behind each post.

“It’s less about seeing them with their friends as it is about what they’re doing in their life,” sophomore Emma Weltens said. “If you’re not doing anything [and post on BeReal], people reach out like ‘hey, wanna hang out?’ That doesn’t really happen on Instagram.”

BeReal also lacks typical social media app features such as the ability to post from one’s camera roll, to post videos, to use tags and to see what people have posted other than their most recent post. Users can react to posts like other apps, but they must take a selfie of their reaction to the photo. The relative lack of content and features on BeReal means users like senior Anthony Luparello never spend too much time on it. This is another factor distinguishing BeReal from its predecessors, as according to Healthline, 5 to 10% of Americans have a social media addiction.

“I’ll admit, I’m addicted to social media, but I really appreciate BeReal because it’s cool seeing what other people are doing,” Luparello said. “But it’s like, you’re never on it for more than three minutes, so it’s nice to have a social media that you’re not really addicted to.”

However, BeReal posting requirements end past the time limit. Although late posts are tracked and noted, the fact remains that users are still able to post for that day. In addition, according to junior Olivia Maib, her friends do not point it out that much.

“I try to post on time, but if I just ignore the notification and forget about it, I’ll post two hours later by accident,” Maib said. “No one really points it out if your photo is late.”

Just because posts show what users were doing when posting doesn’t mean that a little inauthenticity isn’t present, either. Due to the app allowing late posts and the lack of social stigma around them, users are free to wait until they’re in a more photogenic environment, as opposed to their bedroom, to post.

“People see it as you can see what your friends are doing, but some people don’t use it like that,” Weltens said. “They wait to be with their friends to post. Sometimes, I just feel like it’s not real.”

According to Luparello, he still appreciates the app attempting to encourage authenticity. Luparello often uses the discovery tab, which features content from posters around the world who decide to make their posts public rather than just sharing it with their friends, and he said he likes the interesting nature of posts that BeReal inspires.

“[One time, I saw] a guy with a speaker in his mouth,” Luparello said. “Just seeing how random and humorous people are in the world, it’s interesting to see other people’s experiences.”

Still, despite an appreciation from users for what the app is trying to do, it remains up in the air as to whether or not BeReal can convince them to do as its name asks.  The missing features of BeReal, like the ability to post at any time and to edit your photos, are what make apps like Instagram popular in the first place. Although Maib said she supports BeReal’s mission, she won’t take Instagram off her phone and switch to BeReal because of it.

“I support the idea of posting without being fake,” Maib said. “I think it’s cool, but I think it’s cool that on other apps you can post whenever.”