This summer, shortly after BeReal was acquired by French mobile game publisher Voodoo, the candid selfie-sharing app popular with Gen Z changed the way it asks users for consent to be tracked. The resulting pop-up is currently the subject of a privacy violation complaint in Europe. Confirmed violations of the bloc's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) could result in fines of up to 4% of annual global revenue.
European privacy nonprofit noyb is behind the complaint, accusing BeReal of using manipulative tactics (also known as “dark patterns”) to pressure users into consenting to ad tracking. This violates the GDPR standard that consent should be freely given. ”
According to noyb, since July 2024, BeReal users in Europe have been shown a consent banner that allows them to conveniently choose to consent or decline tracking. However, the complaint does address what happens after a user interacts with the banner. The argument is that banners are unfair (and potentially illegal) because they don't provide an equal experience.
Noyb's complaint alleges that BeReal employs aggressive “nudge tactics” to embarrass users who refuse to be tracked. The banner reappears every day when I try to publish a post. On the other hand, users who have consented to being tracked will not see the pop-up again and are left with peace of mind.
“This is a classic example of so-called dark patterns aimed at manipulating users’ decisions and harassing them into consent,” noyb claimed in a press release detailing the complaint. are. “Overall, it appears that BeReal cannot accept a ‘veto’ when it comes to European privacy rights.”
Lisa Steinfeld, data protection attorney at noyb, added in a statement: “BeReal's nudge tactics are particularly stupid. When users first see the consent banner, they get the impression that the app actually respects their choices, when in fact BeReal doesn't take no for an answer. It's clear that BeReal is trying to pressure users into consenting to tracking.”
To support his argument that this tactic is not GDPR compliant, noyb points to the European Data Protection Board's 2022 Guidance on Dark Patterns in Social Media Interfaces, which repeatedly asks users for consent. Continuous prompting is a warning tactic. It says this dark pattern is likely to make them “frustrated and succumbing to having to deny requests every time they use the platform.”
“The GDPR makes clear that consent is only valid if it is freely given,” Steinfeld added. “Unfortunately, BeReal doesn’t seem to care and is trying to pressure people into consenting to being tracked even if they don’t want to be tracked.”
noyb filed a complaint against BeReal with the French data protection watchdog CNIL (the app's parent company, Voodoo, is based in France). It is calling on regulators to amend consent flows to comply with GDPR standards that apps are free to choose, and to order apps to delete data processed since dark patterns were introduced. It also calls for CNIL to be fined.
Voodoo has been contacted seeking a response to BeReal's complaint.