BeReal for Teens: Are There Any Risks Involved?

BeReal is gaining popularity because of its filter-free premise and simple interface. Teenagers like to connect with their friends on BeReal and share pictures with them. This has left many parents concerned about the security risks of the app.

From unmoderated pictures to location sharing, your child’s privacy might be at risk. We’ll address your concerns for teens using BeReal, along with some safety precautions.

Let's find out how teenagers can use BeReal without compromising their online safety and security.

BeReal Risks for Teens

Since BeReal is one of the hottest social media apps, we understand the parent's safety concerns. The following is a list of the risks that teenagers might face on BeReal.

1. Unmoderated Pictures

BeReal is all about unfiltered pictures of yourself and your surroundings, but are there any child-friendly restrictions on the app? There aren’t. When you explore the Discovery section of BeReal, it might contain different images posted by unknown users.

Scrolling across the Discovery feed, some pictures might be unsuitable for teens as the section shows random BeReal users you can connect with. Apart from the unmoderated images, there might be something inappropriate for children on RealMojis—the reactions you leave on other users’ content.

The BeReal app is for people over 13. Since the platform has no special teen-friendly features, everything is merged in one place. This means a 30-year-old might be watching the same content as a 14-year-old.

Under its, BeReal says that it is just a hosting app and is under no obligation to monitor what the users post. So you might see pictures with pornography, racism, hate speech, and discrimination; the only way to deal with this kind of content is by reporting it to the platform.

There are no filters or settings to moderate the content. So, you might want to have a discussion with your kids before allowing them to sign up for BeReal

2. Location Can Be Shared With Anyone

BeReal has a location option showing your exact address where the story is posted. New BeReal users might unknowingly share their location with others. With your location public, you can be at risk of being approached by all kinds of people.

Sharing your location with strangers is considered a threat to your security. When posting a public BeReal, teens should hide their location. If posting the location is necessary, we recommend sharing it only with your BeReal friends.

3. Little Parental Control

The concept of BeReal is to share your real-time photos. The desire to create a reality-based platform has left BeReal with notable flaws, such as a lack of parental controls.

Users have reported the role of parents on BeReal to be inefficient as it does not counter potential issues. This lack of parental control allows teens to use the app however they like.

4. Easy Communication With Strangers

As genuine as the app seems, it is relatively easier to connect with people on BeReal compared to other apps. Users can send requests or watch your BeReals if you post them publicly. You can also appear on the Discovery Feed of any user.

This can be concerning for parents as there is no security regarding who gets access to their child's profile. It can lead to online harassment, cyberbullying, and other issues.

Posting a picture publicly means that you’ll also be getting reactions from people you don’t know. Someone might not like or understand your picture, leading to unnecessary trolling.

5. No Detailed Reporting

When you open the report section of social media apps, it usually includes a detailed section on what the report is about and what further actions you wish to take. Unfortunately, that’s not the case when reporting on BeReal.

Users get a very concise reporting section with only two reporting options. You can only report the content to be undesirable or inappropriate. Choosing any of these two options means you don't want to see posts from that user or similar BeReal users.

You can’t select or write details on why something being reported is undesirable or inappropriate. So, users are left unsure of whether their report was worth considering or not.

How to Ensure Teen Safety on BeReal

By taking some safety precautions, teens can have a much more secure experience on BeReal.

We talked about the unmoderated pictures and easy account discovery issues on BeReal. The best practice to counter these problems is by limiting your social circle. Set your privacy to Friends and Contacts only.

While keeping your social circle limited, avoid sharing certain things on social media that have the potential to invade your privacy. With a private social circle, teens feel more confident and honest about sharing their feelings. Parents are also at ease, knowing their children add only the people they know.

2. Report and Block Inappropriate Users

It is virtually impossible to moderate social media websites fully, and BeReal is no different. If you don't like certain content from a BeReal user, the best practice is to send BeReal a report. The app will stop showing you their posts. Reporting the content can even get the account taken down.

Other than that, if a user posts explicit content unsuitable for teens and adults, simply block them. You can also contact the BeReal Help Center if you think your report is not properly addressed. Blocked people are unable to contact you and see your posts.

Use BeReal With Extra Security

Parents are always cautious about the way teens use social media. Despite its interesting concept, it comes with certain limitations with regard to privacy.

Location sharing and easy communication make profiles much more accessible to users.

On top of that, little to no parental controls make it inconvenient for parents to keep tabs. The best way to maintain security is by keeping your BeReal circle limited and reporting any inappropriate content.