This Feature In TikTok’s Version Of BeReal Is A Game-Changer
No more guessing what you look like.
You’ve seen it’s “Time to BeReal” but have you seen it’s “Time to Now”? TikTok began rolling out its version of BeReal, called TikTok Now, on Sept. 15. The in-app feature is all new and designed to share more “authentic moments,” according to TikTok. It looks all too similar to BeReal but TikTok made a few changes. Looking at TikTok Now versus BeReal, you’ll notice differences on time limits, the selfie camera, sharing with friends, and more. Here’s how to use the new TikTok feature, so you can “be real” on all of your apps now.
If you’re familiar with BeReal, TikTok Now will be a breeze to navigate. If you’re not, the premise of BeReal is simple. Once a day at a random time, you have two minutes to take a photo in real-time. It uses your front and back camera to capture the shot. It’s OK to post late, but you won’t be able to see your friends’ posts until you do. The app became so popular that Snapchat and Instagram hopped on the bandwagon with Snapchat Dual Camera and Instagram Dual. TikTok Now is the latest app to join the fun, but how does it compare to the OG? I’ll break down the new feature so you know how to get to it as soon as it hits your app.
Where To Find TikTok Now
For U.S. users, TikTok Now will be added as an entirely new tab along the bottom of your TikTok app (where the Friends tab currently is). The new icon will be sandwiched between the main camera button and the Home page. TikTokers outside the U.S. will get TikTok Now as a separate app.
Time To Capture
TikTok Now will send a notification at a random time every day with a time limit to capture a photo or video. Here’s how it compares to BeReal down to the emoji.
TikTok Now
TikTok’s once a day notification reads ⚡Time to Now ⚡with 3 minutes on the clock to capture either a static photo or a 10-second video of what you’re up to.
BeReal
The OG BeReal notification ⚠️Time to BeReal ⚠️ gives you a heads up on the 2 minute countdown to capture a photo. For now, BeReal doesn’t have video taking capabilities.
Sharing With Friends
TikTok Now
There are some limitations to sharing on TikTok Now based on TikTok’s existing safety and privacy practices. If you’re under 18, you won’t be able to share your Now to the Explore page. Anyone under the age of 16 will automatically have a private Now account by default.
If you are over 18 and have the option to share your Now with friends or everyone, you can change that setting. But people who don’t follow you or you don’t follow back can’t interact with your posts. Having said that, you won’t have to start from scratch with your network of followers because TikTok will use your existing friends as your TikTok Now friends.
BeReal
BeReal is a stand-alone app that lets you create an account with your phone number. It then accesses your contacts, with your permission, to find other friends with BeReal who you can add. You can also search up friends by their username.
When you take a BeReal, you can choose whether you want to share it with friends only or everyone. If you choose to share it with everyone, your BeReal might appear on the Discovery page where you can browse people’s BeReal from across the world. You can also opt to turn your location tag on or off. If your location is on, people can see where your BeReal was taken on a map.
Selfie Camera
TikTok Now
TikTok’s version of BeReal lets you see what your selfie looks like as you simultaneously capture an image on the world-facing camera, which can be a game-changer when it comes to not needing to retake your TikTok Now over and over again.
BeReal
When you’re being real, you can only see the world-facing image or your selfie until you snap your pic — then you can see what the image in the smaller box looks like.
How Long Your Picture Stays Up
TikTok Now & BeReal
Your posts will stay up until the next random notification hits the next day. If you posted late, there will be a timestamp calling you out for the amount of time you were late for.
It’s not total late-shaming, but it’s meant to encourage you to post in the moment when time is of the essence. You know, for the “be real” and TikTok “now” of it all.
Comments & Reactions
TikTok Now
To comment and react to TikTok Now posts, you must follow the TikToker, and they must follow you. Similar to sharing, people between ages 13 and 15 will also have comments limited to friends only. Otherwise, you’ll simply see other people’s TikTok Now posts, with no ability to comment or like.
BeReal
BeReal lets users comment on and react to their friends’ BeReal posts, and you can only react to public (non-friend) BeReal posts with RealMojis.
Can You Screenshot?
TikTok Now
It’s not clear how screenshots on TikTok Now work, but it’s likely you can screenshot other people’s TikTok Now posts, and you’ll have to keep an eye out for if there are notifications. Elite Daily reached out to TikTok for information about TikTok Now screenshots, but did not hear back at the time of publication.
BeReal
You can screenshot your own and other people’s BeReal, but it gets tricky when it comes knowing who took the screenshot. People won’t be notified if you screenshot, but they will be able to see it on the app if they share it to another social media platform.
Post Archive
TikTok Now
To find the archives in TikTok Now, you can click on “Now memories.” It’s not clear how many days of memories will be available, but keep snapping and you’ll eventually see if and when there is a cutoff.
BeReal
In BeReal, you can find your old posts by tapping on your profile in the top right corner of the screen. You can see the last 14 days of your BeReal posts.
Overall, the vibes are ~very~ similar when you look at TikTok Now versus BeReal, but once you dig in, you’ll see there are some differences to keep in mind as you use the features on the respective apps. No matter which app you’re using, you’ll have to be quick if you don’t want to be late — because let’s be real (pun slightly intended), an extra minute in TikTok Now really isn’t all that long.
