Instagram has been testing a Candid Challenge feature for the platform, and it's giving "BeReal" vibes.
New apps are constantly being released, which forces OG's like Instagram to adapt and change with the trends.
We saw this years ago with the release of Instagram Stories, which directly copied Snapchat Stories. We saw it again with the release of Reels copying TikTok's short-form content style.
Well, the trend continues in the summer of 2022. Information was leaked revealing that the app is dabbling in another copycat feature.
What is the Candid Challenge? Alessandro Paluzzi, a "reverse engineer" who has gained a reputation for leaking news before release dates, has yet again gifted us with information on Instagram's upcoming changes.
On August 22, 2022, he Tweeted some insight on the new challenge.
According to Alessandro, the feature is going through internal testing and directly mirrors the BeReal app.
What is BeReal? We're glad you asked!
Unlike millennials, Gen-Zers have been known to love uncurated media. While Millennials made the aesthetically pleasing Instagram profile a thing, Gen Z holds the potential to flip the script, valuing more authentic and raw content.
Alexis Barreyat picked up on this love for authenticity in the upcoming generation and designed "BeReal," an app that forces genuineness.
The app was released in 2020 but didn't gain popularity until the summer of 2022.
The premise of the app is simple. Users are all sent a notification daily but at different times each day. The notification lets users know that the posting window is open.
During the posting window, BeReal-ers can take a picture that uses both the front and back camera simultaneously. The interesting thing is you only have two minutes to take and upload your photo.
So at a random time once a day, for two minutes only, users can post pictures taken by the dual camera feature.
You see where this is going, right?
Two minutes is a VERY short window to curate a post, and since users never know when the window will open, there is virtually no way to prepare yourself to look "picture perfect."
Bye-bye, heavy editing and perfect lighting; hello, bedhead, and blurry photos.
Once you post, you can see posts from your friends. If you don't post, you can't see their content.
If you post outside the two-minute window, your friends will be notified that you posted late.
Another design feature that keeps comparisons to a minimum is the inability to see how many "friends" a user has.
Users say the app creates a sense of realness and doesn't make you want to scroll and scroll. Instead, you post your content, react to your friends, and go about your day (a healthier way of doing social media).
Candid Challenge So, with the desire for authenticity on the rise and curated content on the outs, Instagram needs to keep up. Likely, this is why they are experimenting with the Candid Challenge.
According to Alessandro, the feature will notify users once a day to upload their Candid photos. There will also be an option to upload your friend's Candids to your "portfolio," but it's unsure what that exactly means.
Since the feature is being internally tested, only a few details have been released, and we don't know when users will be given access. Still, we are confident it will closely imitate the BeReal setup.
Ultimately, we hope it helps create a community of raw honesty instead of a culture of comparison.
Final thoughts Gen Z is making things like body positivity, authentic expression, and genuine community trendy. All things we stand for!
BeReal's success shows that we as a society are tired of overly posed and filtered content and ready for a natural and raw representation of our day-to-day lives.
We are excited to see how social media apps respond; we are sure the Candid Challenge will not be the only new feature coming up!
