Meta will launch new features inspired by BeReal and Snapchat

Meta is testing a new feature for Instagram called “Peek,” which allows users to post candid, view-only photos once. The feature borrows ideas from two competitors: Snapchat’s view-once feature and BeReal’s unedited content.

Meta is famous for copying ideas from other startups and technology companies. Peek is said to be a “faster” version of Stories (watchable for 24 hours). Users must take photos directly with the app’s camera, cannot download existing photos. Like BeReal, Peek images are also not edited or have filters added.

#Instagram continues to work on "Peek" 👀

ℹ️
One tap to capture and send
Real pics – no edits, no filters
View once and it's gone

Here's the introductory screen 👇 pic.twitter.com/G0nsvHpwwO

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) May 13, 2024

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Peek has some similarities to Instagram’s ” Candid Stories ” – a feature tested in 2022 to compete with BeReal. However, Candid Stories has not been widely deployed and is essentially a complete copy of BeReal, requiring users to take random photos at certain hours. The difference with Peek is that users proactively share moments at their own discretion, more flexibly instead of depending on unexpected times.

This feature can attract users who want to share authentic content but don’t like being limited by time. Instagram is trying to compete with BeReal, especially in the context of this application showing signs of cooling down (although BeReal denies that).

Currently, Peek is still in internal testing and it is unclear when or if it will be officially launched. The interface and name of the feature may also change before reaching the user.