BeReal wants to be the social-media app on which you can be real. But how can we attempt authenticity when our lives are carefully manicured on platforms like Instagram? After gaining traction in the States this spring, the French platform is currently ranked No. 1 on the App Store’s “Top Free Apps†chart and bills itself as the “simplest photo sharing app to share once a day your real life in photo.†This means that the app bugs users to post an unedited photo daily at a randomly selected time each day. If a user posts a photo late, their picture is marked as such, practically eliminating the ability to curate a mise-en-scène and cute fit. Photos taken on the app use both the front and back cameras so that friends can see both you and your environment at that moment and react/comment accordingly.
In recent days, BeReal memes have spread throughout Twitter’s corners, where clever tweets imagine what Margaret Thatcher’s or Drake’s BeReal of the day might look like. Some think a Thatcher pic would be set in the pits of hell, while Drake memes are him making duckfaces in a Hot Wheels–themed bedroom. Want to see the memes for yourself? Below, we curated our favorites.
Nicole Kidman
Lea Michele
Drake
Margaret Thatcher
RuPaul
Elon Musk
Luca from Love Island
Remy from Ratatouille
Elio from Call Me by Your Name
Matilda
Driving in L.A.
Watching Mac Miller’s Tiny Desk Concert
Bella from Twilight
Dani from Midsommar
Nick Nelson from Heartstopper
Regina George’s Mom in Mean Girls
Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City
Winslow from The Lighthouse
Eddie Munson from Stranger Things
George W. Bush
Shiv Roy from Succession
Women in Horror Movies
Nathan for You
Someone Doing Illicit Activities
Doctors Addicted to Social Media
This post has been updated throughout.