BeReal is getting real about branded content

BeReal is onboarding some high-profile users. Beginning on February 6, the app’s users will be able to follow celebrities and brands so that posts from those accounts show up next to posts from friends.

The features, titled RealPeople and RealBrands, will allow celebrities and companies to interact with the app’s broader community. By becoming RealFans, as BeReal puts it, users can engage in “unique ways.” They can connect their uploads to RealPeople and RealBrands by tagging them, and the onboarded stars can return the favor by sharing fan content.

BeReal emerged as one of the breakout apps of 2022 when it bucked social media conventions in favor of randomly-timed, sparsely-edited posts. Many users (including the POTUS himself) found that approach refreshing, but BeReal’s leadership team has known for a while that it will need revenue-generating features to keep up in the competitive app economy. In September 2022, just two months after BeReal reached #1 on the iOS App Store, a Financial Times report claimed that the app’s execs were discussing potential monetization options for its 15 million users.

These days, BeReal is up to 23 million daily active users, according to TechCrunch. But the app’s growth has slowed since its heyday; the establishment of the RealPeople and RealBrands designations will not only bring big-name users to BeReal, but will also open the door for more sponsored content (and, by extension, more revenue for creators).

The idea of paid media on BeReal seems to clash with the app’s core values of authenticity and spontaneity. The BeReal team, however, doesn’t see it that way. A post on the company’s blog argues that RealPeople and RealBrands will offer unfiltered looks into lives that are often polished and scrutinized.

“Our mission is to create a more authentic world and keep you connected with the people you really care about,” the post reads. “We believe that by showing that notable people and brands are actually people just like us — equally boring and interesting at different times — we help reset and improve some of the negativity that has come from modern social platforms.”

There’s one detail about RealPeople and RealBrands that BeReal isn’t revealing just yet. The app is being coy about the celebs and companies that will occupy those categories at launch. The roster of partners will be revealed on February 6.