Work in Progress · Final Visuals Coming Soon
Designing Sustainable Authenticity
A Product Retention Strategy for BeReal
TIMELINE
May 2026 - Present
Platform
Mobile App
MY ROLE
Product Designer
Overview
BeReal is a social media platform designed around spontaneous and authentic sharing. Unlike traditional social platforms focused on curated content and performance-driven engagement, BeReal encourages users to share unfiltered moments from their daily lives using simultaneous front and back camera captures.
The platform’s core value proposition is:
helping users connect through real-life moments rather than polished online identities.
However, while the product successfully generated early curiosity and differentiation, sustaining long-term engagement remains challenging due to onboarding friction, social dependency, and weak activation experiences.
BeReal gained rapid popularity through its anti-curation positioning but struggled to sustain long-term engagement after its initial growth phase.
Problem
BeReal struggles to retain new users because the product requires high social participation before users experience meaningful value.
New users often:
enter an empty social environment
feel pressured to post before understanding the reward
lack motivation to invite friends
experience discomfort with forced authenticity
fail to build emotional connection with the platform
As a result, activation weakens early, reducing the likelihood of long-term retention.
This activation failure creates a bottleneck in the AARRR funnel. Because Activation is weak, Day-1 to Day-7 Retention drops significantly. A high churn rate directly shortens the user lifecycle, severely restricting the overall Lifetime Value (LTV) of our user base and increasing the blended Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) since we have to constantly acquire new users to replace the churned ones.
First-Time Observations
To understand the retention breakdown, the product was explored from the perspective of a first-time user unfamiliar with BeReal.
Onboarding Experience
The onboarding process immediately requested:
phone number verification
age confirmation
account setup
Before users could understand the platform’s value.
Empty-State Problem
After entering the app:
there was little visible content
users were encouraged to post immediately
users were asked to invite friends before experiencing value
This created a contribution-before-value problem.
Psychological Friction
The simultaneous front-and-back camera interaction created discomfort around self-presentation and exposure.
Although BeReal promotes authenticity, users may still desire:
self-control
selective vulnerability
lower social exposure
The product currently assumes users are immediately comfortable with raw visibility.
Lack of Activation Moment
The product failed to create an emotional “aha” moment during onboarding.
Instead of:
“I understand why this platform matters.”
The experience felt:
empty
effortful
socially dependent
Behavioral Insights
Insight 1: Users Need Value Before Contribution
Users hesitate to invest socially before understanding the emotional or social reward.
Requesting posting behavior too early increases friction.
Insight 2: Authenticity and Exposure Are Different
Users may appreciate the idea of authenticity while still resisting uncontrolled exposure.
People often prefer:
low-pressure sharing
controlled authenticity
safe participation
Rather than forced raw visibility.
Insight 3: BeReal Depends Too Heavily on Existing Friend Networks
The platform’s value relies heavily on active participation from friends.
Without an active social graph:
feeds feel empty
posting feels meaningless
habit loops fail to form
Insight 4: Passive Social Presence Is Missing
Most successful social products allow users to experience value passively before active contribution.
BeReal currently provides limited passive discovery for new users.
Insight 3: BeReal Depends Too Heavily on Existing Friend Networks
The platform’s value relies heavily on active participation from friends.
Without an active social graph:
feeds feel empty
posting feels meaningless
habit loops fail to form
Insight 4: Passive Social Presence Is Missing
Most successful social products allow users to experience value passively before active contribution.
BeReal currently provides limited passive discovery for new users.
Supporting Market Signals
External user discussions and research around BeReal commonly highlighted:
repetitive daily experiences over time
declining motivation after novelty wore off
dependency on active friend participation
discomfort with forced authenticity
lack of meaningful engagement loops
Retention Challenges
Challenge
Impact
Empty-state onboarding
Users fail to experience immediate value
High social commitment
Users hesitate to invite friends
Contribution-before-value
Posting feels emotionally risky
Weak activation loop
No strong emotional payoff after onboarding
Network dependency
Retention depdns on already-active friend groups
Authenticity pressure
Users may feel exposed rrather than comfortable
Weak re-entry motivation
Dormant users lack meaningful reasons to return
Strategic Hypothesis
If BeReal introduces lightweight ambient social discovery while preserving user privacy and low-pressure participation, new users may experience social value earlier and feel more comfortable participating consistently.
The strategy focuses on:
reducing onboarding emptiness
lowering social pressure
improving perceived community presence
building sustainable participation habits
preserving the platform’s authenticity-focused identity
Proposed Retention Strategy
Ambient Local Discovery
Objective
Reduce onboarding emptiness and social dependency.
Concept
Instead of requiring users to immediately invite friends, users can optionally explore authentic moments shared by nearby users through an approximate-location discovery system.
Examples:
“Harsh from East Delhi”
“Kajal from North-East Delhi”
Exact locations are never shown.
Privacy Controls
Users choose visibility preferences:
private only
connected users only
local discovery enabled
Location visibility remains broad and approximate rather than precise.
Expected behavioral Impact
This system allows users to:
experience community presence immediately
observe authentic participation behavior
reduce fear of posting first
understand platform culture before contributing
Technical Feasibility & MVP Approach
This activation failure creates a bottleneck in the AARRR funnel. Because Activation is weak, Day-1 to Day-7 Retention drops significantly. A high churn rate directly shortens the user lifecycle, severely restricting the overall Lifetime Value (LTV) of our user base and increasing the blended Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) since we have to constantly acquire new users to replace the churned ones.
B. Low Pressure Participation System
Objective
Encourage sustainable participation without over-gamifying authenticity.
Strategy
Rather than maximizing posting frequency:
posting remains intentionally limited
users are encouraged toward meaningful sharing instead of volume
Controlled Participation Rhythm
Users can share up to 3 moments daily:
morning
afternoon
evening
But the system avoids aggressive engagement pressure.
Notifications are framed around reflection and participation rather than productivity.
Example:
“Share another authentic moment from your day.”
Instead of:
“Maintain your streak.”
Expected behavioral Impact
reduces content spam
maintains freshness
supports routine formation
preserves emotional intentionality
C. Memory-based Retention
Objective
Create emotional value beyond daily posting.
Concept
Over time, BeReal becomes:
a personal memory archive
a reflection map of daily life
a timeline of authentic moments
Users can revisit:
places
dates
moments
social interactions
Through:
memory maps
date-based reflections
location-based journals
Expected behavioral Impact
This creates retention through:
emotional continuity
nostalgia
personal meaning
Rather than only social obligation.
Risk & Tradeoffs
Goal
Risks
Increase discovery
Weakens intimacy
Improve participation
Creates performance pressure
Encourage authenticity
May unintentionally gamify authenticity
Add local discovery
Introduces moderation and privacy concerns
Build habit loops
Risks emotional fatigue
Increase visibility
May encourage attention-seeking behavior
Risk Mitigation
Privacy Protection
approximate locations only
opt-in visibility controls
no exact geolocation sharing
reporting and blocking systems
Preventing Performative Behavior
limited daily posting
reduced algorithmic amplification
no public like-count competition
focus on community presence rather than virality
Reducing Pressure Loops
Avoid:
aggressive streak punishments
productivity-style notifications
engagement-maximization systems
Focus instead on:
emotional continuity
lightweight participation
low-pressure return behavior
Experimentation Plan
Phase 1: Local Discovery Pilot
Test local ambient discovery in selected regions.
Measure:
onboarding completion
first-day posting behavior
browsing before posting
opt-in visibility rates
Phase 2: Participation Rhythm Testing
Compare:
unlimited posting
vs
controlled participation system
Measure:
average posts per user
content quality perception
retention impact
notification fatigue
Phase 3: Memory Retention Features
Avoid:-
aggressive streak punishments
productivity-style notifications
engagement-maximization systems
Focus instead on:-
emotional continuity
lightweight participation
low-pressure return behavior
Data Instrumentation & Telemetry
To accurately measure the success of the Experimentation Plan, the following event schemas must be instrumented by the frontend development team and passed to the analytics backend:
Event 1: Ambient Feed Enagement
Event 2: The Activation Conversion
Event 3: Low-Pressure Participation
Success Metrics
Conclusion
BeReal’s retention challenges are not caused by a lack of features, but by a mismatch between social effort and perceived value during onboarding and early usage.
The current experience requires users to:
contribute before understanding the reward
build community before experiencing one
embrace authenticity before feeling socially comfortable
This strategy focuses on reducing those barriers while preserving BeReal’s core identity.
Instead of maximizing engagement through addictive mechanics, the proposed system aims to create:
sustainable participation
lightweight social presence
emotionally meaningful retention
low-pressure authentic sharing
The long-term goal is not to turn BeReal into another performance-driven platform, but to strengthen its original vision in a way that feels socially rewarding and behaviorally sustainable.
Ultimately, by solving the core psychological friction in the Activation stage, we create a more resilient Retention loop. Decreasing early-stage churn mathematically extends the average user lifespan, directly driving up the Lifetime Value (LTV) of the platform without compromising BeReal's core mission of sustainable authenticity.
