How BeReal Built 41M Users by Breaking Every Social Media Rule

Lean on the 'time capsule' effect: memory features that show users what they posted on the same day in past years, plus a monthly recap (other platforms only do yearly; BeReal does both monthly and yearly).

Added video posts so users can share POVs of their lives using front and back cameras and talk over them, keeping the no-retake, authentic format.

Once a day, at a random time, a single notification prompts all users to share what they are doing at that moment (front and back camera, no retakes, within a daily window). The randomness is kept deliberately as what makes the app unique.

Friends' BeReals in the feed stay hidden until the user shares their own BeReal that day, so every viewer is also a poster. Pitched to advertisers as an engagement advantage.

Positioning 'human-first, AI-free': no ranking algorithm, no uploads or filters, only content from people you know. The feed is finite and ends with a message: 'Hey, enough screen time for today. Go enjoy your real life.' The company refuses to copy features from bigger platforms or to become an everything app, and markets itself as the healthier social media.

The Voodoo CEO/founder posts on BeReal himself and invites users to comment on his BeReal with ideas; product managers and social engineers also gather community feedback whenever they test a new feature.

New features are tested on a small portion of the audience before a global (GA) rollout, judged mainly by how the most loyal, long-time users respond.

Over the past year in the US: returned to college campuses, coffee shops and events that prioritize health and mental health, with branding/marketing sponsorships. Message aligned with Gen Z: spend more time together, fight loneliness, connect in real life.

Sponsors community-driven organizations such as Coffee & Chill in the US and runs many events, e.g. a party in Paris gathering creators and users.

Works with content creators who are 'losing their voices' on other platforms to create BeReal accounts, share behind-the-scenes content, and get their audiences to follow them on BeReal. Runs alongside paid ads across platforms (no details given). Creator monetization is on the roadmap.

Ads are the only business model (US, Europe, Japan). Three products: full-day takeover (the only ad on the platform that day), first-impression takeover (guaranteed among the first ads in the feed), and standard in-feed ads. First campaigns from ~$10K. Uncluttered feed so an ad may be one of the few a user sees that day; brands are encouraged to use the front+back camera format so ads feel like a friend's post. Targeting by gender, OS, country, ZIP code, age, and (testing) interests from a new profile field. First-party brand lift studies included in most campaigns, Nielsen etc. at extra cost. Boosting brands' organic posts is being added.

Brands can customize BeReal's iconic daily notification; first run with Red Bull on Super Bowl Sunday. Details withheld before launch.

BeReal connects brands with its creators and users to produce user-generated-content ad creatives, and offers to customize creatives. Doubles as a way for creators to start earning before direct creator monetization exists.

Optional subscription add-ons / perks for users were explored a few years ago (before the Voodoo acquisition). No details on what was offered.

Paywall had three columns: free, monthly and yearly. The free column was removed, leaving monthly and yearly. Rationale: if you show free, everyone picks free.

On Google Play, create a custom store listing (CSL) per target keyword/feature and optimize its title and short description for that keyword; keep the default listing for the main feature you rank best for.

In competitive categories (e.g. food diary), use a keyword tool (ASOMobile) to find lower-traffic keywords with popularity ~5-20 that few competitors have in their titles (e.g. 'eating tracker' instead of 'food diary'). Once downloads are coming in, move to more competitive, higher-traffic keywords.