Instagram and Snapchat have been sweating the effects of TikTok’s rise, but now it looks like they have another upstart rival to worry regarding.
BeReal, which bills itself as a less organized platform, has been the most downloaded iOS app in the US so far this quarter, according to third-party data from Apptopia recently highlighted by Bernstein. BeReal beat second place TikTok, with Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp rounding out the top five.
Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik noted that the trends are admittedly different when you look globally or beyond Apple Inc. AAPL,
devices running the iOS operating system. Instagram tops the charts on a purely global basis, and BeReal doesn’t even make the top five. When looking at global iOS downloads, to take into account that GOOG, developed by Alphabet Inc.,
GOOGL,
apps come pre-installed on Android devices, Instagram still ranks first, with YouTube second and BeReal third.
“But if US iOS downloads represent the cutting edge of innovation, there’s a new king in town,” he said in a note to customers.
While apps like META from Meta Platforms Inc.,
Instagram encourages users to post selected photos and videos to their feeds, social media users also appreciate apps such as Snap Inc.’s SNAP,
Snapchat, through which people share photos of themselves making funny faces and using cheesy filters.
BeReal also aims to capitalize on this more spontaneous aspect of social media, although the company states on its iOS app download page that it is “not another social network”.
The app notifies people once a day at a different time that they have two minutes to share a selfie and a photo of their surroundings. The app is a “new and unique way to find out who your friends really are in their daily lives,” BeReal explains on its website.
Shmulik noted that “the company’s voice seems to be resonating”, both in terms of app downloads and the attention BeReal receives from established social media players.
TikTok recently launched TikTok Now, its own take on the trend, which the company said it would integrate into the app for US users and offer as a standalone app in some other regions. TechCrunch reported this summer that Instagram had “quietly added” a feature called Dual to its Reels platform, allowing users to simultaneously capture footage with their front and back cameras.
Whether the particular TikTok clone takes off is still an unknown, according to Shmulik. “Such ventures can be hit or miss, as Meta knows all too well, but the competition for eyeballs is stronger than ever,” he wrote.
