Instagram could be cloning another rival – this time it’s BeReal – WRAL TechWire

By Catherine Thorbecke, CNN Business

Over the years, Facebook has used Instagram to compete with rivals like Snapchat and TikTok by cloning their signature features. Now, a newer, fast-growing service appears to have caught the companys attention: BeReal.

Instagram is testing a feature called IG Candid Challenges that appears strikingly similar to the core concept ofBeReal, an app that has been dubbed the anti-Instagram for its focus on more authentic posts. On BeReal, users receive prompts at one random time each day to, you guessed it, BeReal. Then they have two minutes to snap and post an unfiltered front-and-back photo of what they are up to at that moment.

Similarly, the Candid Challenges option prompts Instagram users everyday at a different time to share a photo to their Stories within a two-minute time frame, according tophotos of the new feature shared on social media. It also appears to use dual-camera shots a selfie and a rear-camera photo at the same time which is one of BeReals hallmark features.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed to CNN Business that the IG Candid Challenge feature is being tested internally, without offering any additional information on it. This feature is an internal prototype, and not testing externally, said Christine Pai, a Meta spokesperson.

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BeReal launched in late 2019 but gained immense popularity earlier this year. The app has been downloaded 43.3 million times since its launch, with more than 40 million of those installs happening in 2022, according to datafrom Apptopia. This summer, BeReal earned the top spot on Apples App Store in the United States. It was founded by an entrepreneur in France, but Apptopia data indicates the United States is its top market.

BeReal did not immediately respond to CNN Business request for comment.

Instagram previously appeared to mimic one of BeReals popular features earlier this summer, with thelaunch of an option dubbedDual. The feature lets users record using the phones front and back cameras simultaneously.

In recent years, Facebook and its parent company Meta have come under criticism from lawmakers and some users for attempting to beat back competition by cloning core features. Just last month, Instagram faced a backlash from users, includingmembers of the Kardashian family, who expressed frustration that the app was becoming too much like TikTok. Instagram eventuallywalked back some of its changes.

In going after BeReal, Meta may be battling to hold on to younger users, who seem to have flocked to the newer service. But Meta must also confront the reasons why some find the app enticing. One BeReal user and Georgetown University studenttold CNN earlier this yearthat he believes the app is popular because its an antidote to the pressures to look perfect online.

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