Instagram’s new features take “inspiration” from BeReal

Oh, the irony. In an attempt to get away from the “fake” and inauthentic environment of Instagram, an as-yet little-known app named BeReal was created. And Instagram has decided that BeReal’s features are exactly the type they want in their platform.

So, what is BeReal?

Well, BeReal is a social media platform that, you guessed it, encourages you to be real. You get a random prompt at some point during the day, every day, which you are to react to with a recording of what you’re doing at the moment.

Considering how many of us are in front of a computer screen for the majority of the day, you wouldn’t think something like this would take off, but according to data.ai, BeReal saw 3.3 million downloads worldwide in the first quarter of 2022 alone. Up 390% from the last quarter of 2021.
According to SocialMediaToday.com, “The app’s being touted as the latest rejection of highly edited and sculpted social media personas, with the immediacy of the sharing process eliminating the capacity for significant customization or curation of your appearance.”

What are these new features?

Instagram’s nameless feature would be a part of their Stories. Users can post a QR code that, when scanned, will show their followers your location on a map. Combined with the dual camera mode that was recently launched, allowing users to use their front and back cameras at the same time, it makes for essentially the same concept as BeReal.