TikTok kills off its BeReal clone, likely because it knows BeReal is dying off on its own

As TikTok abandons BeReal, BeReal wants to be more like TikTok

While TikTok has thrown in the towel trying to get its BeReal clone up and running, BeReal is on the other side trying to be more like TikTok. The company recently announced a few features that more closely align the experience in the BeReal app to features and experiences you would expect to find on TikTok or Instagram.

In May, Bereal announced RealPeople, a new feed that features nothing but famous people instead of your friends. BeReal says that RealPeople is a “curated timeline of the world’s most interesting people – from top athletes, artists, activists, and everything in between.” That sounds a lot like the experience that people head to Instagram for.

Image source: BeReal

Then, earlier this month, it was reported that the company is testing a new direct messaging feature called RealChat that will allow users to chat with their friends about their BeReals — and anything else — in a private manner. That sounds a lot like both Instagram and TikTok — both of which have direct messaging built into the app.

BeReal’s journey from viral social media hit to where it is now reminds me very much of Clubhouse, the viral audio chat app that was quickly cloned by Twitter. While Clubhouse is still around, it certainly doesn’t have the social presence it did when it originally launched. I can’t help but think that BeReal may have the same future ahead of it.