Forget about filtered and perfectly curated accounts. BeReal, the social media app that Gen Z cannot get enough of, boldly strives to offer an untainted and authentic experience. While the concept looks refreshingly sincere, safety and security issues have been raised, and that is why a Bereal app review is needed to find out if the standards it advertises are actually respected.
This article delves into how the app works so that parents can be fully aware of the risks involved before giving their kids the green light to join the interactive “real life” social sharing.
What do parents need to know about BeReal?
The BeReal app became popular by presenting users with an entirely different world from the artificially perfect Instagram accounts and the endless flow of TikTok.
This app revolves around taking a picture of your environment and of yourself, completely raw and without any alterations, at a certain time every day.
While the idea targets honesty, parents must know of the possible dangers and advantages that their kids might encounter.
Harmful and inappropriate content
BeReal‘s casual vibe does not guarantee that all the posted content will be decent and secure. Users may also accidentally capture or spread explicit, offensive, or potentially dangerous content themselves.
In addition, bullying and harassment may be disguised as offensive comments or reactions to photos containing provocative practices or concepts.
Distraction
The apps’ instant messaging notifications, which require immediate action, often compete for students’ attention during classes or important tasks.
Diverse interferences that may arise can affect productivity, concentration, and general success in studies. Thus, parents should set limits and encourage a wide range of apps.
Predation
Similarly to other social media providers, BeReal has its risk of predators taking advantage of the app to talk with and possibly harm the kids.
Most predators have trickery and use passwords illegally. This is one of their strategies for getting to unreleased personal data and stealing confidential items.
Parents should instruct their kids on online safety and monitor their activities. They should also ensure that their children understand what can happen if they share their personal information.
Positive value and privacy
While the app is also associated with some negativities, one of its major contributions is that BeReal promotes authenticity and true selves and helps build positive social relationships.
Besides that, parents should keep up with the app’s privacy settings. They should ensure their children know about the consequences of releasing personal information, such as photos online.
Parental controls
Although BeReal has no built-in parental controls, parents have the ability to monitor their children’s activity.
This includes being willing to discuss online safety and setting limits, as well as establishing an agreement that he/she will periodically review the child’s BeReal content and connections.
Furthermore, they can take advantage of the device-level parental controls to moderate app usage, screen time, and content restrictions.
What are the pros and cons of BeReal?
While BeReal has proved to be a hit for many users, the merits and demerits of this platform still need to be considered. Here are some of its pros and cons:
Pros:
Authenticity and self-expression. BeReal helps individuals to be their true selves and to share their real-life moments, creating a healthy self-identity and self-expression.
Minimizing social comparison. The BeReal app restricts the option to edit and filter the content, and thus, it aims to shield users from the negative consequences of social comparison and unrealistic expectations that most social media platforms create.
Spontaneity and shared experiences. However, this app’s concurrent picture-sharing attribute creates feelings of shared stories that bring the community together.
Temporal constraints. The short time spent catching and sharing moments can encourage users to reflect on their moments and be present.
Cons:
Privacy concerns. Unlike other social media platforms, BeReal presents risks relating to privacy and data protection issues, especially for young people or those who share private information.
Potential for harmful content. Though it emphasizes authenticity, the chance of seeing the exposited, offensive, and hurtful content remains uncertain.
FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Seeing friends’ BeReal posts may induce FOMO for people whose day isn’t especially interesting or exciting.
Limited features. Unlike other apps, BeReal is fairly stripped down with simple features like private messaging or open profiles. It may appear to be restrictive for users who prefer the more advanced features of other social media platforms.
Peer pressure and validation-seeking. The objective of the app is to glorify authenticity. But the user may still feel the compulsion to depict himself in a particular manner and seek external approval through likes and comments.
How does BeReal work?
Contrary to other social media platforms that usually consist of curated content and edited feeds, BeReal focuses on originality.
Here’s how BeReal functions, stripping away the staged moments and offering a glimpse into real-time life:
Daily notification
Every day at whatever unexpected moment that may be, BeReal will remind the users to make a random in-the-moment BeReal.
Two-minute window
People are given a time frame of two minutes to take a selfie of themselves and a picture of what they are doing. Nevertheless, there is no place for redos or corrections which is why the captured moment is real.
Sharing options
The next stage is for the users to choose whether they want to make their BeReal visible to their friends only, or if they want to leave it for everyone to see. However, the public posts can only be seen by others who themselves have already released their BeReal picture for the day.
Disappearing feed
Unlike other social networks where posts are eternal, on BeReal, they expire after 24 hours, so people are in the moment.
Discovery feed
Also, BeReal does have a public “Discovery” feed where BeReal posts of BeReal users are shown globally. But you can customize who can access yours through the privacy settings.
Reactions
BeReal is about keeping it simple. There are no likes, comments or followers. Friends will react to their Real posts using emojis or the RealMoji (an avatar representing themselves).
Is Bereal app as safe as it claims?
BeReal brands itself as being a safe social media platform. Yet, it is essential to evaluate whether it is able to guarantee safety and security.
Here’s an analysis of the app’s safety measures and potential risks:
Privacy and data collection
BeReal says that its app collects very little data about its users, which what comes from a privacy prospective makes it advantageous. However, this is a stated fact but it still carries along with it records of location data, device details and using analytic, and this may lead to certain security concerns if it is not properly managed.
Content moderation
Although the target of BeReal is to provide a real life experience for users without any obligations to do certain things or edit the pictures, there is still nothing that assures users that they will not see explicit or harmful content that someone else might have shared. Lack of sufficient administration of community and user reporting fails to fully guard children and weak people from the hazardous content.
Predatory behavior
Social media has risks, such as online predators who harass children, and BeReal is no different because they use this app for social engineering, too. Reduced spontaneity around biometrics eases the chances of negative behavior somewhat, but a 100% prevention of this risk is absolutely impossible.
Cyberbullying and harassment
The real issue of false identity, cyberbullying, harassment, and other negative comments that can have a damaging mental effect particularly for young children is becoming a major problem even though the app is focused primarily on authenticity.
Distraction and overuse
The app’s notification system, which opts-in to allow the user to see and share his/her present condition on a continual basis, can turn out a distraction because it hurts the concentration, academic performance, and productivity.
Parental controls and age verification
On the one hand, BeReal app does not have the function of keeping children away from all the risky stuff unmonitored. Hence, parents have difficulties to keep their children safe on the application.
The legitimacy of BeReal as an app that supports the realness is not the point under investigation. And this makes the situation even more critical since their approach, to use security measures and policies, might not be as effective as they assume.
People should be made aware of these issues that the app can cause, mainly teenagers and their parents. Thus, some rules and procedures should be put in place to make sure those involved use the app in the right way.
Should I let my daughter get BeReal?
Whether to allow your girl to choose the BeReal app or not is a personal choice that needs to be considered reasonably regarding probable risks and positive outcomes.
Before deciding to let your daughter use BeReal, you really have to talk with her about internet safety, privacy, and socially appropriate behavior while she is using social media.
Moreover, think also on using tools like trackers and guardians to avoid the creeping towards unacceptable patterns.
An effective tool for parents would definitely be FlashGet Kids. An application helps parents restrict their screen time and allows the apps.
With FlashGet Kids, you can:
Set up a daily time limit on the apps to prevent your daughter from using BeReal or other apps too much.
Block or limit access to some apps or sites during designated study or sleeping hours.
Monitor your daughter’s online activities and obtain reports on her app usage and browsing history.
Deploy content filters to block inappropriate or harmful content.
By using FlashGet Kids, you can create a balanced and safer digital environment for your daughter. It will help her identify BeReal’s features and ignore the looming risks.
In the end, it will be up to you to make a decision based on your child’s age, maturity, and ability to aid your child in the difficulties social media brings.
FAQs
What age is BeReal for?
BeReal app isn’t only for ages 13+, but it’s better to use over 13. The need for parental supervision and guidance especially for young users is therefore advised.
What is the point of BeReal app?
With BeReal, it is about having random, non-prepared, and unedited snapshots every day, which reinforce the concept of genuineness and mitigate the effects of social comparison.
Does BeReal show people your phone number?
No, BeReal does not practically give the phone number to other users of the app but it can collect and store the information for account creation.
Does BeReal own your photos?
In accordance to the BeReal terms, the users have the sole ownership of the pictures but have given the license to BeReal to use the media for commercial/non-commercial purposes.
Does BeReal share your location?
There is no doubt that BeReal has access to your location data and it also possibly shares this out with other parties for marketing and research purposes.
