2022 APP STORE AWARDS

iPhone App of the Year

The photo-sharing app BeReal offered a truly authentic look.

BeReal: Photos & Friends Daily

Real photo, no filter

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This cultural phenomenon transformed our most mundane moments into meaningful connection.

—App Store Editors

We had a new favorite part of our day this year: getting notified it was “Time to BeReal.”

It was a chance to glimpse—along with millions of others around the world—what the people we care most about were experiencing, all at the same time.

A big part of BeReal’s fun is never knowing when the daily notification will arrive. It’s caught us lazing in bed, about to dig into our lunch, daydreaming at our desk. One arrived while we were on our way to a show we’d scored amazing seats to—and we didn’t even mind that we had to post before we got there.

You never know when BeReal’s daily notification will come. The app snaps a front- and rear-facing shot at the same time.

The act of being real is simple: Snap two pics simultaneously—one from your iPhone’s front-facing camera, the other from the rear-facing one. Then you have two minutes to send them to your select group of friends, no filters or editing allowed. Refreshingly, BeReal doesn’t do “like” counts.

Those simple rules distinguish BeReal from any other social or photo-sharing app—and actually helped us see our friends in new ways. We discovered surprising things in common—a mutual love of Lego, our go-to coffee shop, a favorite pumpkin patch. We saw parts of their lives for the first time, like super-shy pets or incredibly organized (or is it messy?) home offices. We even started to feel comfortable posting unflattering selfies. That’s being real, right?

BeReal was at its most magical for us when it happened to capture weddings or other life events. Each unplanned photo, caught from a different perspective, stitched together a new kind of experience, challenging the all-too-common notion that only the most glamorous moments in our lives are worth sharing.

Read about more winners

Our favorite feature

How you’re encouraged to share your actual reaction to friends’ posts. Simply snap a selfie in the moment and send it back. You could also send an emoji (or a selfie mimicking an emoji), but like everything else in the app, your reactions are most fun when you’re just being yourself.

Meet the creator

BeReal’s French founders, Alexis Barreyat and Kévin Perreau, released the app in 2020; it soared to new heights in 2022 as its community grew from thousands to millions—thanks, in part, to a passionate Gen Z fan base. The BeReal team has opted to let the app catch on entirely through word of mouth.

Watch the video

See the year’s best games and apps in action! (Tap the icon on the bottom right to toggle sound.) Some content may not be available in all areas.

2022 App Store Award Winners

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