BeReal: Communities to Strengthen User Retention
July 3, 2025
After analyzing user interviews, app store reviews and academic studies, we identified a major drop in BeReal usage once close friends stop posting. To address this, I designed WeReal, a feature allowing users to join or create authentic micro-communities (classmates, artists, city groups…).
The goal: revive daily engagement through shared rituals — while staying true to BeReal’s DNA.
WeReal introduces community feeds, posting incentives, and monthly recap videos. Research and Figma prototype were made within 48h, including edge cases and loading states.
Product
BeReal
Skills
UX Research
Product Strategy
UI Design
Design System
My role
Solo Product Designer (48h Case Study)
Timeline
Q1 2025
Team
Solo ✌️
Context and problem
BeReal successfully built a unique ritual around one authentic post per day. But once a user’s close friends stop posting, the app quickly loses meaning.
From user reviews, interviews, and data, one clear pattern emerged: churn happens when your circle becomes inactive — leaving you with an empty feed and no reason to return.
Key challenge: How might we create a new daily use case without compromising BeReal’s authenticity?
Research
We analyzed over 1,000 App Store / Play Store reviews, synthesized 10 in-depth user interviews, and cross-referenced findings with five academic studies on spontaneity, self-presentation, and social media behavior.
Key insights
📉 Social drop-off breaks the habit
Users leave when their close friends stop posting — there’s no fallback network to sustain daily engagementPersona & Synthèse
👥 Need for meaningful belonging
People want to connect with others beyond their inner circle — school peers, hometown groups, niche interestsInterview_Synthèse
🔁 One photo a day isn’t enough
The ritual becomes repetitive over time and lacks emotional depth to create long-term retention
Solution
WeReal introduces a new layer to BeReal: authentic communities.
Users can join or create communities based on shared identities — like their college class, hometown, creative crew or fanbase. They can post their daily BeReal within these groups, in addition to their private friend feed.
Each month, WeReal auto-generates a recap video of moments shared in the group — creating a sense of continuity, belonging, and emotional stickiness.
All features are designed to preserve BeReal’s core values: no likes, no followers, no filters.
When posting to a community:
🌱 Your BeReal is visible to members only
🎞 You contribute to the monthly video recap
🔕 No extra notifications, no spam
🖼 RealMoji reactions only — no comments, no popularity
Prototype
Our principle: Authenticity at scale
From the beginning, we insisted on avoiding all mechanics that drive social comparison — no metrics, no status, no discoverability.
Designing for community without performance was our biggest challenge.
We carefully crafted an experience that expands the social graph without increasing pressure.
This led to key product choices:
– No feed of “top communities” or trending groups
– No way to track who reacted or how many saw your post
– Community content vanishes after 24h — no archives, no stalking
The result: a richer, more collective BeReal experience — grounded in presence, not performance.