Presented By
Calla Kessler—The New York Times/Redux

French social media app BeReal thwarts fussy curation by prompting users to post what they’re actually doing at a random time each day. Users have two minutes to snap both a selfie and a photo of what’s in front of them, whether they’re frying an egg or toiling over spreadsheets. The banality lends a certain intimacy that’s lacking on other platforms—and the concept has resonated. After raising a $36.6-million Series A round led by the influential VC firm Andreessen Horowitz last year, BeReal hit the top spot on the App Store’s free downloads list this summer.

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com.

Augmented Job Training
Next-Level EV
Flash-Frozen Coffee to Go
Athletic Apparel for the Smartwatch Era
Meditate in the Metaverse
EDIT POST