BeReal would consider paid features instead of ads

Viral photo-sharing app BeReal has accomplished something incredible, quickly amassing 15 million users in a hypersaturated social market. It's so popular that Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat have all released new features that capitalize on what makes BeReal shine: its front and rear camera setup and anti-addictive once-a-day-post gimmick.

But BeReal is only two years old, operating on its $30m Series A, led by Andreessen Horowitz and Accel. Unlike social apps with billions of users trying to copy it, BeReal has yet to figure out how to monetize it. According to a Financial Times report, the app is turning to paid features or subscriptions to generate revenue, instead of inundating users with ads (see: Instagram).

BeReal founders Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau are notoriously tight-lipped on the app; they have yet to give an official press interview. TechCrunch contacted the company to confirm this report, but did not receive a response prior to publication.

Now is the best time for BeReal to figure out how to support itself, risk capital aside. While consumers may roll their eyes at particularly egregious BeReal imitators, these large social enterprises simply have more resources at their disposal to create a better product. BeReal is still relatively glitchy, which takes the fun out of its main vanity: once a day, at a random time, each user is notified that it's "BeReal time" and posts a picture of everything they do . But when millions of users flock to the app at the exact same time, BeReal is prone to crashes.