• by Colin Kirkland , April 10, 2025

After five years, BeReal -- the purposefully unglamorous one-post-per-day social-media app -- is officially launching ads in the U.S., following through with goals previously set by its new owner at a time when TikTok’s future is uncertain in the region.

In keeping with its vision of authentic social media, BeReal -- which has become known as the anti-Instagram app, attracting millions of Gen Z users in 2022 -- began inviting brands and celebrities to share behind-the-scenes moments from their lives on the platform over a year ago.

Without serving actual ads, however, the company had trouble monetizing and months later sold to French mobile apps and games publisher Voodoo for €500 million. Voodoo quickly introduced ads to BeReal, inviting over 200 brands to test the platform’s advertising capabilities.

Voodoo recognized that BeReal had “achieved incredible user loyalty and growth, showing there is a universal need to share real, unfiltered experiences with close friends,” according to a statement by CEO Alexandre Yazdi.

But initial ads tests attracted widespread criticism from users who were upset and dissatisfied by both Voodoo's decision to run ads and the quality of the ads themselves.

In response, the app's downloads saw a 55% decline in the first half of 2024 compared to the previous year, with its monthly active users also declining, according to Sensor Tower data. After gaining over 70 million users in 2022, the number of people using the app each month has dropped below 23 million.

Recently, BeReal hired former TikTok and Walmart Connect ad executive Ben Moore to help launch its ad business in the U.S. According to Moore, the company has been testing U.S. ads with Nike, Amazon, Levis Netflix and other major brands over the past six months.

“We now feel that we are ready to open up the advertising offering and service more clients that want to shift their paid media budgets from any platform, not just a social media one, to BeReal,” says Moore.

BeReal's current ad offering is integrated directly within users' feeds for “low-friction engagement” and high-impact takeovers. The company says it will grant advertisers exclusive ad placements as well.

Moore is confident that it will be able to attract brands that are exhausted by navigating the ongoing drama surrounding TikTok in the U.S.

“We're telling them that we are here, and we're not going anywhere,” Moore told Campaign.