Taking refuge in the search for spontaneity and the fight against posturing, BeReal has become the latest social boom, with significant growth in a very short time, accumulating more than 50 million downloads of the app worldwide during 2022.
BeReal notifies the user every day at a random time after which they have two minutes to share a selfie with their users accompanied by a capture from the rear camera
Its operation is very simple: every day and at a random time, the user receives a warning after which they will have two minutes to take a selfie that, in addition, will be accompanied by the capture made by the rear camera. Therefore, it seeks to share an improvised moment, without filters, without posturing and with just two minutes to “prepare” the staging.
It is about combating the images shared through Instagram or TikTok in which users usually show off studied poses, in spectacular settings and with a very careful appearance (in addition to adding filters and image editing).
Privacy issues at BeReal
But despite the good intentions that seem to support this social network based on authenticity and spontaneity, warnings are beginning to emerge from specialists in relation to the vulnerability of younger users and, especially, privacy risksdrawing attention to the following aspects:
-Reveal data against the will of the user: Due to the very nature of spontaneous photography and the fact that it includes a capture from the front camera and another from the rear camera, the user can spread more information than they might want to communicate related to their environment or those around them, as well as their activity patterns.
-Long-term transfer of images: The conditions of use of the BeReal platform include the authorization to said social network for the reuse of the images published by the user for 30 years, which means that the shared photographs may form part of advertising or promotional campaigns without the user can decide on that use. A particularly problematic circumstance in the case of younger and immature users who may not be aware of the long-term repercussions of their actions.
-Absence of content control: BeReal disclaims all responsibility for the published content, asserting that it will not carry out any type of control over it, which may lead to the platform ending up hosting offensive content or content that promotes hatred, just the opposite of what is criticized. to other social networks such as Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, accused of excessive zeal in the censorship that they print on some of the content published by their users.
-Active geolocation: Unlike what happens with other social networks, the automatic geolocation of images is not disabled in BeReal, so users must activate or deactivate it manually when sharing images.
-Cookies: In this case, it does not make any difference with other social networks or platforms. The use of third-party cookies allows these platforms to show their users relational advertising with content that matches their personal preferences, habits and tastes.
