Build Your Own BeReal Clone: Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

If you searched “how to build a BeReal clone,” you probably don’t want another generic social app — you want a private, ephemeral photo feed for your close friends, on your terms. This guide shows you how to build exactly that, tailored to you.

The honest version first

You could go the traditional developer route. Plenty of tutorials cover how to build a BeReal clone with iOS SwiftUI and Firebase, and a few people have documented how they created an open-source BeReal clone in Flutter. Those are great if you want to learn to code — but they take weeks, and you end up maintaining a backend.

If you just want the thing — a small private feed for you and a few people — you can build it yourself in Auto in a few minutes. No code, no app store, no settling for someone else’s defaults. It’s your feed, your friends, your rules on how long posts last.

How to build it in Auto (step by step)

Auto is camera-first: you describe what you want, snap a photo, and it builds you a personal mini-app called a Frame.

1. Describe your feed. Tell Auto you want a small, private, glanceable photo feed shared with a few friends — posts that disappear automatically after a set time.
2. Set the vibe. Ask for one photo at a time, full-bleed and immersive, with the poster’s name, how long ago, and an “expires in Xh” cue. Skip the endless scroll.
3. Add sharing. Request a share link so friends can join, post, and view the same set of photos.
4. Keep it lightweight. Ask for emoji reactions instead of comments, and live updates when someone posts.
5. Snap and post. Capture a photo, post it, and it appears instantly for everyone.

That’s the whole loop. Adjust anything — reaction emojis, expiry time, who can post — until it fits your situation.

How someone built theirs

One Auto user built a Frame called “Latest” — a shared “widget” of everyone’s most recent moment among close friends.

They started with a single detailed prompt: a private, glanceable feed where you capture a photo and friends see it instantly, posts expire after 48 hours, no algorithm, no endless scroll. Sharing was a join link so anyone invited could post and view. The feed showed one photo at a time, full-bleed, newest first, with the poster’s name, a timestamp, and an “expires in Xh” indicator. Instead of comments, they asked for emoji reactions (❤️ 🔥 😂 😮 and more) with live counts, plus realtime updates and a subtle “new post” cue. The feel: fast, intimate, playful, with haptics on posting and reacting.

They hit a build error along the way and just asked Auto to fix it — twice — and it sorted itself out. Then they refined: a discreet settings page for the owner to choose expiry (12 / 24 / 48 hours), and moving the post button to the bottom right. Small, personal tweaks — the kind you can’t make to an app you download.

FAQ

Do I need to know how to code? No. You describe what you want in plain language and Auto builds the Frame.

How is this different from just using BeReal? You own it. You set the expiry, the reactions, and exactly who’s in it — no algorithm, no extras you didn’t ask for.

Can I change it later? Yes. Ask Auto to adjust anything, like the “Latest” builder did with expiry settings and button placement.

Is it really private? Your feed is shared only with people you invite via link.