Tesla finally did the damn thing. The company launched its hotly anticipated robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, June 22nd — and we’re now starting to see some of the first reactions roll in.
Technology
How to BeReal and Ditch the Curated Influencer Shots for Random Daily Photos
Should you want to share footage that use filters, results, and punctiliously handcrafted staging, BeReal just isn’t for you. However after years of extremely stylized photos dominating social media companies like Instagram, individuals are flocking to the brand new(ish) app to, effectively, be actual.
On BeReal, authenticity is the rule. There are not any particular results, no filters. And while you take an image, the app (obtainable for iOS or Android(Opens in a brand new window)) takes two pictures—one from the again digital camera, and the opposite from the entrance digital camera—so individuals can see your unfiltered response as the principle shot is taken. You may’t pull photos out of your telephone’s picture library. You may’t edit a pic after it is posted.
Cease being pretend. Be actual. That’s the entire draw. And it appears to be working. Sufficient so that virtually each different main social community is making an attempt to tear off BeReal’s schtick.
What Is BeReal and The place Did It Come From?
You would possibly suppose that BeReal sprang forth in 2022 like Athena from the top of Zeus. However like most “in a single day” sensations, this app has been round since 2020.
BeReal CEO Alexis Barreyat previously labored for GoPro, whereas his co-founder, Kevin Perreau, is a developer. Barreyat reportedly got here up with the thought(Opens in a brand new window) at a mountain biking occasion whereas watching individuals take staged footage relatively than partaking within the actuality round them.
The app benefited enormously from paid ambassador packages(Opens in a brand new window) on school campuses. When downloads began to develop, influxes of money arrived from enterprise capital corporations like Andreessen Horowitz, totaling round $115 million by Might. The corporate is now valued at $600 million.
As of August 2022, the app had 10 million day by day lively customers(Opens in a brand new window), up 1,000% because the 12 months earlier, with 73.5 million month-to-month lively customers(Opens in a brand new window). BeReal turned the primary app within the Apple App Retailer on July 25, 2022; as of this writing, BeReal is the No. 2 free app there. It is hottest within the US however gaining traction within the UK, France, Netherlands, Australia, and Canada.
How Does BeReal Work?
Anybody with an iOS or Android telephone (or pill) can get the BeReal app. It’s essential to join an account, which implies giving up your title (or making a pseudonym), plus your birthday and telephone quantity. You may’t check in till BeReal sends a code by way of SMS textual content. You get a URL assigned to your account that you would be able to share, like BeRe.Al/ericgriffith.
The aim is to create a neighborhood on BeReal. The app will aid you share your URL with BeReal-using mates to allow them to discover you. It asks repeatedly, as many apps do, for entry to your contacts checklist to seek out mates which might be already on the service. You can too search by title or username.
Easy methods to discover mates in BeReal
(Credit score: PCMag)
That is additionally the place you may give the okay to pending good friend requests.
The app pushes you to take an unpolished pic every day, similtaneously your pals on the app, ideally inside two minutes of receiving a push notification. The time of the notification is totally different every day. Even earlier than you might have a neighborhood of mates, the app will ship randomly timed notifications asking you to publish. Should you don’t like random, this isn’t the service for you.
You may publish any time after the notification drops, however the level is that you simply and your pals all get the push notification across the similar time and publish a “BeReal” inside a few minutes. Late posts get marked as such, so you’ll be able to really feel like a loser. In fact, that feeling could also be mitigated if you happen to wait to take a severely good pic. (Should you’re in Paris, who desires a shot of a baguette once they might wait and see the Eiffel Tower?) You may’t see your pals’ posts till you add pics.
A BeReal notification
(Credit score: Tada Photos/Shutterstock)
While you take the pics, you don’t get to see your self. Solely the again digital camera view is on the display screen. You get a few seconds to compose your face, however that’s it for setup. Don’t count on perfection. That’s the way you be extra actual.
You may select to delete location information out of your pics at add. By deciding on the “Discovery” possibility, you can even set it to go public at add so it is seen by extra than simply your neighborhood of mates. Add a caption when the BeReal is totally uploaded.
When you see all your pals’ pics—count on to witness lots of people reclining as they watch Netflix—you solely get to view them for the following 24 hours. Then the pics are gone. Your pics disappear from everybody else’s view by the following day as effectively. It feels just like the ephemeral high quality of Snapchat with the day-to-day life viewing of Instagram (sans influencer pretension).
Entry your personal pictures once more by clicking your profile icon; the photographs reside on below Your Recollections. They’re solely seen to you. They’ll, nevertheless, be shared to Snapchat, Instagram, and Messages. Or use the Share Through button to convey up all of the choices in your machine, like copying it to the clipboard or saving the picture to your Photographs app.
You may “remark” on different individuals’s BeReal posts with a “RealMoji,” a customized emoji you entry by way of a smiley icon. You may’t add them to your personal posts.
Easy methods to Delete a BeReal
To delete a BeReal you simply posted, you need to go to your Profile web page (by way of the icon on the higher proper) and entry View all my recollections. Discover it within the checklist, and click on the ellipsis menu now on the higher proper, then choose Delete from Recollections. The warning will say “Are you positive you need to delete this BeReal? It is going to be deleted completely and won’t be recoverable.”
Nevertheless, that doesn’t delete the BeReal from your pals’ view, and people pics nonetheless present in your BeReal important display screen. You will have to attend out that first 24 hours for it to vanish utterly.
Does BeReal Notify About Screenshots?
Chances are you’ll be interested by when or if somebody takes a screenshot of your BeReal. Which occurs, since they solely get to see the picture for twenty-four hours. You will not get a real-time push notification, however if you happen to return to the BeReal app, you will see a depend of what number of screenshots have been taken of your publish in a small bracketed quantity below the caption. Faucet it and (when you share your BeReal on one other service) you will additionally see which mates grabbed it to save lots of. You may solely entry this information in the course of the first 24 hours.
You may’t cease mates from taking screenshots of your BeReals. If you wish to seize a good friend’s BeReal with out them understanding, the simplest workaround is to make use of Display screen Recording—the app cannot detect you making a video of the display screen.
Easy methods to Delete Your BeReal Account
Should you’ve tried BeReal and it isn’t for you, it is easy to delete the account. Go to Profile > Settings > Assist > Contact us > Delete Account. It’ll take as much as 15 days, in keeping with the corporate FAQ(Opens in a brand new window). Should you log again in throughout that point, account deletion is canceled. (It actually doesn’t need you to go.)
You can too change your account’s recorded telephone quantity. If you wish to change your username, do this any time below Edit Profile; it received’t go lively till after your subsequent publish.
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The actual upside of BeReal past all this so-called authenticity is the shortage of promoting. Firms and business entities can’t create an account.
Lots of people liken the day by day engagement to the type of on-line neighborhood that you simply see with individuals embracing one thing like Wordle. Additionally, there’s no video assist but—an absence of a function that folks would possibly miss concerning the outdated days of Instagram and Fb.
Who Else Is Making an attempt to BeReal?
Naturally, there are imitators. One which not too long ago launched is Daylyy(Opens in a brand new window), which adheres to a variety of the identical tenets as BeReal with a aim of extra genuine connections by way of footage. It solely helps you to add footage taken by way of the app—no filters or pictures from the digital camera roll—every day.
We reside in a world the place each different main social sharing web site tries to repeat the newest and best pattern to maintain customers (and thus hold shareholders glad). See TikTok versus the rip-offs like Fb and Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat Highlight, to call just a few. So it is no shock many need to outdo BeReal earlier than it will get a toehold.
TikTok itself isn’t resistant to copying (it’s, in any case, simply Vine with success). It introduced TikTok Now(Opens in a brand new window) as “a day by day photograph and video expertise to share your most genuine moments with the individuals who matter essentially the most.” The distinction from BeReal is that TikTok Now’s entrance/again digital camera combo provides the choice to do a 10-second video. The Now function is already obtainable within the US within the common app, however could spin out right into a TikTok Now standalone app in different areas.
TikTok Now
(Credit score: TikTok)
Instagram’s Twin function, in the meantime, might be discovered within the Reels part. Click on the digital camera icon in Reels, then click on Twin, and also you’ll see your self on the entrance digital camera and a thumbnail of the rear; you’ll be able to swap them round to make one or the opposite the “important” shot. The default is to make a video not a nonetheless image, however the gist may be very BeReal-esque. So as to add to the function stealing, Insta is testing out Candid Problem(Opens in a brand new window), which can ship a notification as soon as a day to inform individuals to rapidly share an unstaged photograph utilizing Twin.
Instagram Reels utilizing Twin view
(Credit score: Eric Griffith)
In fact, neither of those apps are limiting dual-shots to mates solely, nor are they solely restricted to as soon as per day. And naturally they’re permitting filters and results.
However the query actually is, how lengthy will BeReal restrict itself? Perhaps the corporate can maintain out whereas it is nonetheless privately owned, however as soon as curiosity begins to flag, the app could need to open itself as much as options like video, filters, a number of posts, and adverts—the shortage of which make BeReal look like a deal with.
In July, Vice(Opens in a brand new window) referred to as BeReal “the Solely Good Social Media App,” saying it “combines the perfect issues about 2010s Fb albums, Instagram Shut Associates tales, and Snapchat.” However the backlash has already begun. Vice additionally says it makes every little thing look boring(Opens in a brand new window).
A Substack essay(Opens in a brand new window) by a former BeReal person, in the meantime, says that even with an authenticity-leaning app like this, individuals nonetheless attempt to glamorize. And creator Stacia Datskovska says “the app’s final flaw is that it lets people act like they’re past the toxicity of social comparisons, whereas subscribing to that very notion.” The New Yorker(Opens in a brand new window) argues that BeReal’s moralizing stance towards the opposite social networks is contradictory.
Attempt it your self if you happen to really feel like the opposite social networks aren’t giving your on-line life the authenticity you need to mission. A minimum of it is free and ad-free. For now.
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But first, we have to get a few important caveats out of the way. Tellingly, the service is not open to the general public, nor is it completely “unsupervised,” as Elon Musk once promised. The vehicles will include Tesla-employed “safety monitors” in the front passenger seat who can react to a dangerous situation by hitting a kill switch. Other autonomous vehicle operators would place safety monitors in the driver or passenger seats, but typically only during the testing phase. Tesla is unique in its use of safety monitors during commercial service.
The rides are limited to a geofenced area of the city that has been thoroughly mapped by the company. And in some cases, Tesla is using chase cars and remote drivers as additional backup. (Some vehicles have been spotted without chase vehicles.)
The service is invite only at launch, according to Tesla’s website. A number of pro-Tesla influencers have received invites, which should raise questions about how unbiased these first critical reactions will be. Tesla hasn’t said when the service will be available to the general public.
The limited trial includes 10-20 Model Y vehicles with “Robotaxi” branding on the side. The fully autonomous Cybercab that was first revealed last year won’t be available until 2026 at the earliest. The service operates in a small, relatively safe area of Austin from 6AM to 12AM, avoiding bad weather, highways, airports, and complex intersections.
Despite those hours, the robotaxi service seems to have gotten off to a slow start. Several invitees had yet to receive the robotaxi app by 1PM ET on Sunday. Sawyer Merritt, who posts pro-Tesla content on X, said he saw 30 Waymo vehicles go by while waiting for Tesla’s robotaxi service to start. Musk posted at 1:12PM that the service would be available later that afternoon, adding that initial customers would pay a “flat fee” of $4.20 for rides — a weed joke with which Musk has a troubled history.
While riders waited, the company published a new robotaxi page to its website detailing a lot of the rules and guidelines of the service. Visitors are invited to sign up for updates about when Tesla’s robotaxi service may come to their area. (Musk has said there could be up to a thousand robotaxis on the road “in a few months.”)
After finally being granted access to the app, Merritt posted an image of the service area map, which appeared to cover a small area bordered by the Colorado River to the north, Highway 183 to the east, Highways 290 and 71 to the south, and Zilker Part to the west.
And then the rides began — and they appeared to be mostly uneventful. Several invitees livestreamed themselves summoning their first cars, interacting with the UI, and then arriving at their destination. Several videos lasted hours, as the invitees would conclude a trip and then hail another car immediately after. One tester, Bearded Tesla Guy, described the app’s interface as “basically Uber.” Many had some difficulty finding the pickup location of their waiting Tesla robotaxi.
“This is like Pokemon hunting,” one person on Herbert Ong’s livestream said, “but its robotaxi hunting.”
Once inside, the Tesla-employed safety monitor would ask the riders to show their robotaxi apps to prove their identities. Otherwise the safety monitors kept silent throughout the ride, despite riders trying to get them to talk. I’m assuming that Tesla will need to come up with some other way to identify their riders if they plan on removing the safety monitors from the passenger seat. Waymo, for example, asks customers to unlock their vehicle through the ridehail app.
The rear screen instructs the riders to fasten their seatbelts, and after pressing an animated “start ride” button, the vehicle gets underway. Riders can also start the ride from a similar button in the app. Since riders are registering for the robotaxi app using their preexisting Tesla profiles, they’re greeted with their preferred music apps on the rear screen with all their playlists and saved tracks.
The front display shows a visualization similar to consumer vehicles using Tesla’s Full Self-Driving feature — even though Musk had said the robotaxis are running on a special version of FSD that’s not available to the average Tesla owner. There are “pull over,” “stop in lane,” or “support” buttons on the center display. Another tester, Chuck Cook, said the visualization lacked some of the controls that a normal Tesla might have.
Pressing the support button places the rider in a queue as they wait for the remote operator to connect. On Cook’s livestream, it took approximately two minutes before an operator finally connected. “We appreciate you calling in,” the operator said (though the cellular connection was poor). “We’re here for any issues to support your ride.”
Throughout the various trips, the robotaxis encountered a bevy of normal situations, like U-turns, speed bumps, pedestrians, construction, and more. The vehicles maintained speeds of about 40 mph or slower. Common words to describe the ride was “smooth,” “great,” and “normal.” One tester said on X that they got the robotaxi to “mess up” in a way that required the remote operator to help out — though they declined to describe it as a disengagement.
Ashok Elluswamy, the head of the company’s self-driving team, posted a photo of several dozen people in a room with 10 large monitors on the wall showing live camera feeds from several vehicles. “Robotaxi launch party,” Elluswamy wrote.
Where Tesla goes from here is the real challenge. Musk has said he also wants to launch a robotaxi service in California, where the regulatory process is a lot more complex than Texas. And even though he has said he wants to take things slow, he also claims that Tesla will have over a thousand driverless vehicles on the road “within a few months.”
Meanwhile, Waymo is operating more than 1,500 driverless vehicles in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin — with plans to expand to Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, DC in the near future. The Alphabet-owned company has said it will grow its fleet to 2,000 vehicles by next year.
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A suicide bomber in Syria on Sunday detonated himself inside a church filled with people, state television and a war monitor said.
The explosion in Dweil’a in the outskirts of Damascus took place as people were praying inside the Mar Elias Church. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says there were 30 people wounded and killed, but the exact numbers are unclear. Some local media reported that children were among the casualties.
THEY WANT AMERICANS DEAD, TOO — THE THREAT FROM IRAN AND ITS PROXIES
A suicide bomber exploded at the Mar Elias Church on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, on June 22, 2025. (BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images)
The attack was the first of its kind in Syria in years, and comes as Damascus under its de facto Islamist rule is trying to win the support of minorities. As President Ahmad al-Sharaa struggles to exert authority across the country, there have been concerns about the presence of sleeper cells of extremist groups in the war-torn country.
WE CAN’T IGNORE THE DANGER FROM THOSE WHO WANT TO ‘GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA.’ WE NEED TO TAKE ACTION
A suicide bomber attacks a church on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, on June 22, 2025. (BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images)
Security forces and first-responders rushed to the church. An eyewitness said in a video widely circulated online that the attacker came in and started to shoot at the people there before detonating an explosive vest he was wearing.
Andru Marino is an audio and video producer at The Verge. “I make videos on our YouTube / TikTok / Instagram channels, and have produced our podcasts like Vergecast, Decoder, and Why’d You Push That Button?” He also keeps a lot of notes, and his latest favorite places to keep them are the Triangle and Sidekick notebooks. I asked him about them.
Where did you first hear about these notebooks?
I don’t really remember when I first saw the Triangle Notebook. It was probably an Instagram ad. I had kept a link to the notebook’s website in a browser tab on my phone for a few months and kept thinking about it.
When did you buy it, and what went into the decision?
I bought it in April, and what really attracted me was how weird it was. Why does the notebook need to be a triangle? Oh, it opens up into a square! Wow, I love that! The main reason I use paper is to doodle, and I thought this shape would inspire me to doodle differently.
And then I saw this company also made another notebook called the Sidekick that basically looks like an L when opened, so it is angled alongside your computer keyboard. That was so wacky to me. So I bought that one too.
What do you like about them?
This seems more like an art experiment than anything. I love objects that make you rethink how they are used. I typically have Post-it notes or a spiral notebook on my desk so I can write something down or doodle during a meeting. The Sidekick doesn’t take up a ton of space on my desk either opened or closed.
The Triangle Notebook is actually great for using on your lap or other unconventional surfaces, as it is pretty sturdy and lays flat on its spine.
Both notebooks also encourage me to use my handwriting more, which was a New Year’s resolution I had.
Is there anything about them that you dislike, or that you think could be improved?
I am not entirely sure if it makes sense to take notes on an L-shaped piece of paper, but that is just what makes the Sidekick different.
The Triangle Notebook could have a few more pages in it. It is nicely bound and sort of expensive ($33), so I would like to get more use out of it. Also it is so long! I don’t know where to store it.
And the pages don’t tear out very easily. I’d love to give someone a note on a weird-shaped piece of paper.
Who would you recommend it to?
I’d recommend the Sidekick to an artist who wants to doodle during meetings — which is why I bought this. But I can also see it working for someone who draws on a tablet and wants to briefly write down some notes about what they are working on.
I don’t know who I would recommend the Triangle Notebook to besides someone who likes weird objects. I’d love to know if someone feels like they do their best work on a triangle-shaped notebook.
You started this by saying you hoped these notebooks would inspire you to doodle differently. Have they?
So far, no. My notes look the same mess as ever, but it has encouraged me to doodle more and write more, so that makes me happy.
$33
Triangle-shaped notebook that opens into a square.
$24
Notebook shaped like an “L” to wrap around your keyboard.
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