Today, TikTok debuted a new feature that is essentially an exact replica of the popular French social media app BeReal. To get a more accurate image of what our friends do throughout the day, BeReal asks users to randomly snap a front- and back-facing photo each day. Of course, you can wait to publish until you’re engaged in something intriguing. Instagram is reported to be developing its own time-based, ephemeral feature, while Snapchat and Instagram have already debuted front and rear camera functions. However, TikTok was the first software to blatantly copy and paste BeReal into its platform, beating its rivals to the punch.
According to the company’s blog, “TikTok Now invites you and your friends to capture what you’re doing in the present using your device’s front and back camera.” “To conveniently share what you’re up to, you’ll get a daily reminder to record a 10-second video or a still image.”
Users receive a push message every day when the BeReal is released, bookended by alert emojis, alerting them that “it’s time to BeReal.” Users are informed that it is “Time to Now” in between lightning emojis in TikTok’s notification, which, unfortunately, does not have the same ring to it as BeReal.
According to TikTok, users in the United States can now access the feature. According to the mockup photos, “Now” has secured a prominent position on the bottom navigation bar, right next to the posting button. We haven’t yet noticed the feature, at least not on our end. TikTok said that TikTok Now might be made available as a standalone app in other areas.
BeReal has its own privacy issues; if you aren’t cautious to turn off your location, you can unintentionally be broadcasting your exact address with all of your friends, even down to the street name. BeReal may be used in your primary social group, but come on. The internet, that is. There is an open feed! Location doesn’t seem to be a feature of the TikTok Now interface in the mockup photos that TikTok published.
TikTok Now offers various built-in privacy measures at launch. If a person under the age of 16 registers for a standalone TikTok Now app, their account will by default be made to secret, much like TikTok itself. In addition, users must be 18 to post to the Explore Feed with BeReals TikTok Now. For users between the ages of 13 and 15, only your friends—those you follow and who also follow you—can leave comments on your postings. Despite the fact that users 18 and older can change their settings to share their posts with the entire world if they so choose, the default setting for all users will only allow friends to view your posts.
