official definition

bereal was created by two french developers and released in 2020, but did not gain widespread popularity until 2022. the concept for the app is a daily notification at a random time during the day where you then have two minutes to take a front and back photo  of what you’re doing in the moment. it gained popularity in the midst of curated and photoshopped images on other social media platforms, prompting users to “be real” but also show a “b-reel” of their life. if users are fake, there are consequences: showing how late the photos were taken, how many retakes they took, and not allowing the user to view other posts until they post theirs.

it's time to bereal

my friend from cal berkeley first told me about bereal at the beginning of 2022, but i ignored the app link. in doing research, i learned that bereal became more popular due to campus ambassador programs, since the spontaneity would be most appreciated among young adults. i finally downloaded the app in april 2022 after seeing tiktoks about people wanting the notification while they were doing something cool. it felt like a more refined, less committed take on snapchat, which i stopped regularly using in 2021. since then, i have taken a bereal every day (that i have service). to reward your commitment, bereal keeps your photos in a calendar format where you can see which days you took a photo. i love a gold star.

in review

the app concept is so fresh, it advertised itself. as soon as i latched onto the concept, i told everyone i know to download it. there’s definitely friends i have on the app that have stopped taking their daily photo, but it’s been a really fun way for me to know what my friends are doing at random times during the day. i have friends who i haven’t formally talked to in years, my roommates, and co-workers on there, giving a very diverse set of content everyday. of course, because we are humans, people are often “fake” on the app, ignoring the notification and waiting until they’re hanging out with friends or at a concert to take their bereal for the day. i do this sometimes too.

u fr?

it’s comforting to see people living normal lives, like being by themselves on their couch or in their beds at noon. because we generally only take photos when exciting things are happening, that’s what we see on social media. it’s so easy to compare and perform on social media, but bereal brings everyone to the same level. i get so excited for my notification, especially when it does catch me doing something cool, but it also humbles me when it goes off as soon as i’m home after a long day of being exciting.