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Just below a yr in the past, the buzzy new social app BeReal on the rise, with reportedly 20 million users launching the app day-after-day to snap their candid images. Nonetheless, within the months since, BeReal’s traction has declined, in keeping with a new report from Similarweb, regardless of its rollout of latest options like messaging, the ability to post more photos and a “Friends of Friends” discovery feed. BeReal, nevertheless, disputes the brand new revealed estimates, saying that it’s nonetheless rising at a “wholesome fee.”
Based on data compiled by the analysis agency Similarweb, BeReal has been dropping traction within the U.S., the place the app’s month-to-month energetic customers on iOS and Android have declined from a peak of three.7 million in November 2022 to only over 3 million this August.
BeReal, reached for remark, mentioned this estimate was inaccurate, however declined to share its personal segmented market metrics.
Picture Credit: Similarweb
As well as, Similarweb informed TechCrunch BeReal’s month-to-month energetic customers globally have declined to 16.06 million. That might be a drop from last year’s reported 20 million — a determine that roughly traces up with Similarweb’s estimates from January 2022. This decline could have been much more vital aside from the truth that BeReal utilization has continued to develop in its house market of France, the place the app is nearing 615,000 month-to-month energetic customers in August on Android, up from lower than 500,000 final yr, Similarweb mentioned.
BeReal pushed again at these findings as effectively, noting that its app has greater than 25 million energetic customers worldwide. It additionally identified that third-party reviews are simply estimates and its personal inside numbers are extra correct.
Picture Credit: BeReal
In fact, it’s widespread for brand spanking new social apps to see a burst of exercise and utilization earlier than settling down as some early adopters abandon the expertise and solely loyal customers are retained. However in BeReal’s case, the app has been said previously to struggle with retention regardless of now including new options and gaining mainstream notoriety as bigger social media firms ripped off its front-and-back picture idea, together with TikTok, Instagram and Snap.
The app, founded by former GoPro worker Alexis Barreyat together with Kévin Perreau, debuted in the marketplace in December 2019 with an expertise that mimicked an older social app Frontback that additionally leveraged each of the smartphone’s cameras to take images on the identical time. To some extent, BeReal grew by word-of-mouth, aided by its college ambassador program and options like WidgetMoji and RealMoji — that’s, House Display screen widgets and the flexibility to react with stickers in iMessage conversations. However its speedy progress in 2022 was on the stage that usually implied advertising or advert spend, not simply natural adoption.
Because it turned out, BeReal had the funds to ship. The startup closed a Series B round of $60 million earlier in 2022, valuing the corporate at slightly below $587 million.
Sadly for BeReal’s longevity, images of what persons are as much as at a random time of day — each time BeReal points its push notification — are in the end not all the time as fascinating because the curated images of particular moments that customers publish on different photo-sharing platforms, like Instagram. Some BeReal customers even got here to know this, actually, and began staging their BeReals or waited till they had been doing one thing value sharing — like going out with their pals — earlier than posting late.
Moreover competitors from the social media giants, BeReal is now going through an explosion of different new social apps demanding customers’ time as myriad rivals have emerged to problem Twitter, now referred to as X.
For comparability, Instagram’s new app Threads has greater than double the variety of U.S. BeReal customers, at practically 7.3 million, Similarweb mentioned. That’s regardless of Threads’ large drop in utilization shortly after its launch. Within the third quarter, Threads jumped to 150 million downloads in its first week in early July — 5.5 instances quicker than another app, says market intelligence agency knowledge.ai. It even turned the highest app by downloads within the quarter, changing TikTok as the brand new No. 1.
There’s additionally a new app called BeFake where users can post generative AI photos day by day, which might have no less than short-term enchantment. The app has $3 million in funding. BeReal, nevertheless, can’t capitalize on client demand for generative AI apps as a result of it might go in opposition to its fundamental thesis: that social media is faux and its app is about authenticity.
Picture Credit: Similarweb
In the meantime, Instagram’s flagship app continues to have greater than 48 instances as many customers within the U.S. versus BeReal, Similarweb famous.
However in a single small win, BeReal is outpacing the Twitter/X rival Bluesky, the report mentioned, the place it has practically 4 instances as many month-to-month energetic customers. Nonetheless, Bluesky is in non-public beta and customers want an invitation to get in, so maybe it’s not a good comparability.
Nonetheless, even when BeReal’s inside metrics are correct, progress from 20 million to 25 million day by day energetic customers in roughly a yr shouldn’t be an enormous uptick. BeReal might have to determine find out how to make its app extra compelling to a bigger group of customers, which implies extra speedy growth and assessments of latest options.