When a competing service is a hit, Meta has no shame in taking inspiration from it to improve its Facebook and Instagram social networks. For example, Mark Zuckerberg’s company was inspired by Snapchat Stories to offer an identical format on its two social networks.
And when TikTok broke through, Meta took inspiration from its video format to create an Instagram equivalent called Reels. We can also mention the offensive led by the company on the audio format, to counter Clubhouse.
Instagram is interested in the flagship function of the social network BeReal
From now on, it is the young (French) social network BeReal which is in Meta’s sights. This new platform is positioned as the anti-Instagram.
As we explained in a previous article, users post a photo there every day. But it is the application that chooses, randomly, when this photo should be sent. And if posting the photo is not mandatory, it is essential if you want to see the photos posted by your friends.
“Every day at a different time, everyone is notified simultaneously to take a photo in 2 minutes. Find out what your friends really do in their daily lives »reads the home page of BeReal’s website.
This simple principle, which advocates authenticity, has allowed the app to be a hit in the United States. And this has not escaped Meta, which is already developing a similar function for its Instagram social network.
The feature is still being tested internally, but Instagram may roll it out later
It was the developer Alessandro Paluzzi, a specialist in reverse engineering, who discovered this novelty hidden in the Instagram application. The new feature is called IG Candid Challenges and according to the developer, it sends a notification at different times to users asking them to post a photo. After receiving the notification, the user has 2 minutes to publish.
#Instagram is working on IG Candid Challenges, a feature inspired by @BeReal_App 👀
ℹ️ Add other’s IG Candid to your story tray. And everyday at a different time, get a notification to capture and share a Photo in 2 Minutes. pic.twitter.com/caTCgUPtEV
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) August 22, 2022
But at this time, IG Candid is not available to the general public. Quoted by the Engadget site, an Instagram representative confirmed that the feature exists. However, this is an internal prototype that is not “externally” tested.
BeReal is number 1 in the United States, something to worry about its competitors
In any case, it is normal for Meta to feel threatened by this social network and to test a feature inspired by it. Indeed, at the time of writing, BeReal is number 1 in the App Store’s US free app ranking, while Instagram is in seventh place. In France, BeReal is still behind Instagram, at the 14e place in the App Store ranking.
Moreover, as was the case for Stories or the TikTok video format, other companies (even those that do not offer social networks) could later be inspired by BeReal’s flagship feature.
