BeReal plans to skip ads with in-app purchases

BeReal is exploring monetising its photo sharing platform by incorporating in-app purchases according to a news report.

According to a report in the The Financial Times, unnamed sources claim the company is considering paid features after being prompted by investors trying to ensure that the platform is not a passing social media phenomenon.

BeReal’s main photo-sharing service will remain free to use, according to the report, but the company is weighing optional paid-for extras to its core product.

These in-app purchases might resemble a premium Discord membership, where users pay a monthly fee of $2.99 for bonuses like digital stickers.

BeReal has grown significantly and has reached over 15 million daily active users, surpassing internal targets, which interviewed multiple people close to the company for the article.

The FT’s sources believe that the photo-sharing app could reach tens of millions of users by the end of this year.

BeReal’s executives are said to be keen to avoid the pitfalls of larger US rivals such as Facebook and Snapchat, keeping a small team focused on improving the product, rather than raising vast sums from venture capitalists to pursue global expansion.

The photo-sharing app’s meteoric rise has already drawn copycat features from TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, which have all launched dual-camera settings in recent months.

No paid features are likely to launch on the photo-sharing app before the second half of next year.

Although some insiders at BeReal see ads as intrusive and ruin the experience for users, advertising has not entirely been ruled out, the report sources claim.