Days after it started offering users the option to post more than once per day, BeReal is rolling out another new feature. RealPeople is a curated timeline of “the world’s most interesting people.” Sorry if you didn’t make the cut. The feed includes updates from athletes, artists, activists and other notable users.
As with everyone else on BeReal, users featured in the RealPeople timeline will be prompted to drop everything and take a snapshot of their lives with their phone’s selfie and rear cameras when the app sends them a notification at some point during the day. This, BeReal suggests, enables RealPeople to offer “real unfiltered glimpses” into the day-to-day lives of the likes of tennis star Coco Gauff and singers Tinashe and Danny Ocean.
“RealPeople isn’t about influencing, amassing likes or comments or promoting brands,” the company wrote in a blog post. “You won’t see perfect photoshopped pictures, product recommendations or ads disguised as posts. It’s trying to show we’re all more alike than we think.”
As with the Bonus BeReal feature that debuted last week, RealPeople will only be available in the UK at first before it becomes more broadly available. For now, you’ll be able to react to a RealPeople post with an emoji, or hide or report it. Other ways to interact with RealPeople posts are on the way.
Observers have suggested that BeReal didn’t move quickly enough to capitalize on the momentum it gained in 2022. The company has said that last year was largely about stabilizing the service amid a large influx of users. It has refuted claims that its user numbers have nosedived in recent months. To help it keep folks engaged though, BeReal is finally starting to roll out new features, something the company wasn’t able to do before larger rivals started copying it.
