Instagram is testing a feature called Candid Challenges, and many have compared it to a key component of the popular app BeReal.
On BeReal, users are notified simultaneously to capture and share a photo within two minutes – using a dual camera feature.
Bonus: Don’t know how to view and analyze Instagram Reels Insight? Read more on this blog post!
Introduce to Candid Challenges
Instagram has confirmed that it is testing Candid Challenges, a new photo-centric feature akin to the increasingly popular app BeReal.
App researcher Alessandro Paluzzi discovered Candid Challenges, a feature that encourages users to share a selfie every day at a random time.
Candid Challenges is the only app that uses Instagram’s dual camera feature. Therefore, that allows you to take photos with both the front and back lenses at the same time.
BeReal App
The concept of combining random photos and dual camera mode is central to the entire BeReal app.
The concept is for people to capture an authentic snapshot of where they are and what they are doing at any given time. Hence, the name is “Be Real.”
BeReal, which developers launched in 2019, reached the number one spot in Apple’s App Store in July 2019. Moreover, it has an amount of download up to 28 million times.
BeReal has 21.6 million monthly active users and 2.93 million daily users.
Given BeReal’s rapid growth, it’s not surprising that more established apps are starting to mimic its features.
We don’t know how far Candid Challenges has progressed or when it will be on air. However, Instagram confirms to Engadget that it is being tested as an “internal prototype.”
That is, unlike a live test with regular users, only people within the company can access it.
It’s interesting to learn that Instagram is developing new features centered on photo sharing after recently pledging to focus entirely on video.
However, users are not well receiving Instagram’s shift to video, with high-profile influencers clamoring for the app to return to its roots.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri admits that the company has recently leaned “too far” into video.
Conclusion
Candid Challenges could be Instagram’s way of responding to criticism about too much video while also remaining relevant to younger generations.
BeReal, dubbed “Gen Z’s Favorite App,” is growing its user base by creating a way for people to share authentic content with friends.
Another irritant for users is Instagram’s proclivity to surface content from accounts they do not follow. People want to see more content from their favorite brands, friends, and family.
BeReal provides an experience that is diametrically different from Instagram.
Instagram is cloning features from a fledgling social media app. That app is capturing the attention of today’s youth, as it has done many times before.
Then there were stories, which were ripped off from Snapchat. Then there was Reels, which was a TikTok clone. Candid Challenges, cloned from BeReal, will be available soon.