Social media is a big part of our everyday lives. Some use it as a casual everyday thing while others make a living off of the things they put out for the world to see. Lately there’s been a new app making its way around the internet, BeReal. Originally founded in late 2019 to early 2020, it gained popularity all around the world in early 2022. It’s even been ranked at number 1 in some markets. BeReal’s main focus is on, as the name suggests, being real with no filters available on the app, you can only post one picture a day but that picture has to be taken on the app itself, using both front and back cameras. Users receive a notification to take a picture everyday at any time between 7 am and 12 pm.

With BeReal gaining more traction other social media apps have begun implementing features, seemingly copying BeReal on the surface. Both Snapchat and Instagram have features where you can take a picture using both cameras on your phone like BeReal but they’re more like filters than an actual feature. 

TikTok has also added a feature similar to BeReal. Unlike Snapchat and Instagram however, TikTok’s new feature, TikTok Now, copies more of the same features that BeReal has. TikTok Now released in September 2022 and its main focus is on having users take a picture using both their front and back camera everyday at a random time with no filters available.

Comparing the two, TikTok Now seems to have more features than BeReal. The “Now Memories” function is right on the main menu of the new feature while on BeReal they’re hidden in the settings. If you’re 13-15 on TikTok Now only your friends are able to see your posts, but if you’re 18+ you can change your settings to make it so that the whole world can see your posts. 

On BeReal there’s a friends menu and a discover menu. On BeReal you currently can’t post any videos but TikTok Now lets you post 10 second videos instead of a picture. While both apps are similar they each have their own features to make them different and it’s up to the individual users to decide which one they prefer. 

Garrett Clark, a freshman that uses BeReal, said that “It’s alright, it’s pretty fun.”

Clark also said “I hate it when it goes off at random times, and I also hate it when I’m late.”