BeReal gained popularity during the pandemic but failed to maintain a permanent foothold with users.

Just under a year ago, the buzzy new social app BeReal looked to be on the rise, with reportedly 20 million users launching the app every day to snap their candid photos. However, in the months since, BeReal’s traction has declined, according to a new report from Similarweb, despite its rollout of new features like messaging, the ability to post more photos, and a “Friends of Friends” discovery feed. BeReal, however, disputes the new published estimates, saying that it’s still growing at a “healthy rate.”According to data compiled by the research firm Similarweb, BeReal has been losing traction in the U.S., where the app’s monthly active users on iOS and Android have declined from a peak of 3.7 million in November 2022 to just over 3 million this August.BeReal, reached for comment, said this estimate was inaccurate, but declined to share its own segmented market metrics.Image Credits: SimilarwebIn addition, Similarweb told TechCrunch BeReal’s monthly active users globally have declined to 16.06 million. That would be a drop from last year’s reported 20 million — a figure that roughly lines up with Similarweb’s estimates from January 2022. This decline may have been even more significant except for the fact that BeReal usage has continued to grow in its home market of France, where the app is nearing 615,000 monthly active users in August on Android, up from under 500,000 last year, Similarweb said.BeReal pushed back at these findings as well, noting that its app has over 25 million active users worldwide. It also pointed out that third-party reports are just estimates and it’s own internal numbers are more accurate.Image Credits: BeRealOf course, it’s common for new social apps to see a burst of activity and usage before settling down as some early adopters abandon the experience and only loyal users are retained