From the behavior of game players, we discovered needs that are completely opposite to the "pursuit of reality"

"Anti-ins" is a growth gimmick that many social products based on picture sharing have used in recent years. Faced with pictures superimposed with multiple layers of filters on the Internet, BeReal is one of them to respond to the call for authenticity. BeFake AI has completed a reverse operation.

BeFake AI is the first product of Alias, an AI software development company. Alias ​​was established in 2021, but this is not the first time that founders Kristen Garcia Dumont and Tracy Lane have worked together. Before 2021, Kristen Garcia Dumont and Tracy Lane served as CEO and COO respectively of mobile game developer Machine Zone. Machine Zone was acquired by AppLovin in 2020.

In the past few years of making games, the two founders discovered that game players all have vests or are from completely different countries. However, as long as the matching strategy is correct, even if they are strangers in reality, players can establish connections and create good relationships. Interactions, and even because of the body armor, the interaction between some players is smoother and the ice-breaking process is shorter. This also gave Dumont and Lane the idea of ​​letting users socialize without using their real-life identities.

But in fact, the concept of using non-realistic images to socialize is not new. In 2022, many avatar social products have appeared and left. The differentiation of BeFake AI is just like its name, which uses BeReal's gameplay and AI.

It’s a BeReal shell, but it’s an AI photo-generating app?

For a detailed introduction to BeReal, readersv HE Tuber can refer to the previous article here we only briefly introduce the basic gameplay.

The app will send a notification to all users at a certain time every day, allowing users to take photos using the front and rear cameras at the same time, and does not allow photo editing to be published directly.

BeReal uses black as the app's theme color, while BeFake AI adds the same dark purple as the icon, giving the app a little more magical color.

After registering a mobile phone number, BeFake AI also requires access to the user's address book. Before the user adds unfamiliar friends, it first uses interactions between acquaintances to make the app playable.

Like BeReal, BeFake AI will also send mobile phone notifications "lightning emoji+time to BeFake+lightning emoji" to all users at a certain time every day , requiring users to "create" updates within 20 minutes.

Although the method of regularly waking up users is the same, in order to encourage users to share their most authentic status, BeReal limits the upload time of pictures to 2 minutes, and when users post pictures, they will display how many times the user has retaken them.

BeFake AI gives users enough time to create. When the user clicks the creation button on the home page, the front and rear cameras will appear at the same time. By default, the front camera captures the main screen, and the rear camera is on the upper left, but the user can freely switch the main screen. Click to take a photo, and the camera on the main screen will freeze first, and the other camera will press the shutter 3 seconds later. This setting actually gives users more time to pose for photos.

After the shooting is completed, the "creation"/be fake stage is entered. The user can choose 3 ways to make the original picture into a fake picture. 1) Spend 3 points to automatically generate AI pictures directly. 2) Select a template from the style and background options, spend 3 points to generate AI pictures. 3) Enter the prompt yourself, and spend 3 points to generate AI pictures.

Through AI operation, the tired-looking migrant worker sitting in the office writing furiously in the original picture may become a happy-looking Latina girl sitting on the beach in Bali. Five boys who go boating together may become five little ducks walking on the beach.

The monetization point of BeFake AI is very clear here - selling points. After registering the App, users can get 150 points for free, but just like when we tried Midjourney, the seemingly large amount of free credits cannot be squandered.

Users can purchase points according to their needs. One is to subscribe to BeFake AI on a weekly, monthly and annual basis. In addition to the points, the subscription rights also include viewing the past updates of friends. The other is to directly pay US$9.99 to purchase 500 points based on usage.

It is not difficult to see that BeFake AI is essentially an App with AI-generated pictures as its core gameplay, which is different from BeReal's positioning of capturing the real state.

And although both are social apps, BeFake AI actually leaves a lot of room for strangers to socialize, which is completely different from BeReal's acquaintance social attributes.

In 2022, BeReal will have "My Friends" and "Discover" menus on the App's main page. Only users who upload their own updates can view the updates of friends and others. The BeFake homepage is set up with "My Friends", "Hot BeFakes" and "Discovery". Users can view comments on other people's updates, make ratings or make other feedback without uploading personal updates.

And in the process of using BeFake AI, the author can clearly feel that on BeFake AI, due to being attracted by the creative works of strangers, the driving force to add strangers as friends is stronger, while on BeReal, non-acquaintances do not shed the burden of idols The psychology will prevent the author from adding/passing strangers as friends.

In the above description, the author has always emphasized the similarities and differences between BeFake AI and BeReal in 2022. This is because BeReal has now entered a new stage of development.

3. BeReal, which still cannot find a monetization point, seems to have entered the mode of defending the country.

BeReal is definitely a dark horse among social apps in 2022. We have been tracking the dynamics of BeReal in the past year. From the data point of view, the global download volume of BeReal from 2022 to now has almost formed a normal distribution chart, with a significant decline. Active users have experienced a slight decline after experiencing a high point, and now tend to Stablize.

Changes in global downloads of BeReal | Source: Diandian Data

In early 2022, BeReal achieved two surges in downloads and a 315% increase in monthly active users through the campus ambassador program and media exposure.

From July to October, BeReal ushered in a period of explosive growth with the highest average daily downloads and daily active users. During this period, BeReal experienced a peak of nearly 640,000 global downloads and 32 million daily active users in a single day.

BeReal has naturally also been favored by capital. Between May and October 2022, BeReal completed Series B financing. According to TechCrunch, people familiar with the matter revealed that the lead investor was DST Global, with a post-Series B valuation of US$630 million.

BeReal's gameplay of turning on dual cameras at the same time and activating users at scheduled times every day has also been adopted by various products, including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. These products either transform part of BeReal's gameplay, borrow from the past, or directly copy it.

Just when it was collectively optimistic by users, capital and competitors, BeReal fell into confusion. The founding team said in an interview that there is a high probability that BeReal will not monetize through advertising, but will find a more user-friendly way, but until now , this method has not yet appeared.

On the one hand, there is no monetization point. On the other hand, BeReal’s downloads and active users have also shown a downward trend. At the beginning of 2023, some followers said that BeReal’s daily active users had dropped by nearly half from their peak. However, judging from the current situation, compared with the best level from July to October last year, BeReal's global daily active users have dropped by approximately 1/3.

Changes in global daily active downloads of BeReal | Source: Diandian Data

On the one hand, this is related to BeReal's continued expansion of the market. According to App Magic, BeReal's downloads in Japan in the past month were second only to its largest market, the United States, and daily active users are also growing rapidly in 2023.

Source: App Magic

BeReal Japan DAU changes|Source: Diandian Data

On the other hand, BeReal adopts various means to maintain DAU. As the time of using BeReal increases, users have their own ideas about BeReal and no longer follow the instructions of the App. For example, some users would rather delay uploading updates in order to share the concert they attended at night, and such users are not a minority.

In April 2023, BeReal first launched Bonus in the UK. If users upload updates on time according to the notification push time, they can post updates twice in a single day. This setting method can not only ensure the activity of the App, but also satisfy the user's overflowing desire to share at a specific time.

In August, BeReal underwent another revision, replacing the previous "Discover" section with "Friends of Friends," shrinking it back to the scope of socializing with semi-acquaintances. In the author's opinion, this change makes BeReal's social attributes of acquaintances more important, and it seems to be a reflection of BeReal's clear positioning. BeReal wants to be a social product for acquaintances, completely different from Facebook, Instagram, etc. When still unable to find a monetization point, strengthening product differentiation may be a temporary solution.

Although BeReal's highlight moments are no longer there, it is still being imitated in 2023. It is difficult to deny that it has made innovations in the social model that are rare in several years. As for BeFake AI, it is essentially more of a platform for AI drawing + real-time display of works. Although it borrows the shell of BeReal, there is no innovation in the core functions. Whether it can grow steadily depends on whether it can find AI drawing technology. , critical reaction points with sharing and social interaction, for example, AI that is too unconstrained may be detrimental to interaction.