BeReal App Collected Illinois Users’ Biometric Data Without Consent, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims French photo-sharing app BeReal has unlawfully captured, stored and used Illinois residents’ biometric data, including facial geometry, without consent.

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The 19-page lawsuit alleges that the homonymous company behind the app has violated the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by collecting and storing users’ biometric information without notice or written consent and failing to provide publicly available policies that outline how long it will retain their data and when it will be destroyed.

According to the suit, a consumer who creates a BeReal account—which requires them to enter their name, birthdate and phone number—is subsequently prompted by the app once a day to take a picture of themselves and share it with friends.

As the case tells it, if a user does not capture a photo of their face, the app may flash a message on the screen stating, “who goes there?” or “[u]mm, anybody here?” Similarly, the app may comment with “[a]ye what a smile” or “[b]onus point for the smile!” if the individual is smiling in the picture, the complaint relays.

The filing claims these flashed messages indicate that the app uses facial detection and facial expression recognition software, both of which rely on scans of face geometry—a biometric identifier protected under the BIPA.

Although BeReal readily discloses that it captures “all sorts of different data”—such as a user’s photos, geolocation, “event logs” and more—the app’s terms and privacy policy make no mention of collecting biometric information, the lawsuit states.

The defendant declares that the facial geometry scans captured by the app’s software are not sent back to BeReal’s servers but are stored only on the user’s device, the suit explains. However, because BeReal has failed to notify consumers that the app collects their biometric information, users are not aware that they would be exposing themselves if their devices were to fall into the wrong hands, the case contends.

“Whether or not the biometric information remains solely on a user’s phone, no user has any knowledge that this sensitive information has been obtained and sits on their phone,” the complaint says. “If a user’s phone is hacked or lost, then the biometric information surreptitiously collected on the phone puts the [plaintiff and other users] at risk.”

The plaintiff, a New York resident, started using the BeReal app in July 2022, the filing says. Despite the BIPA’s requirements, BeReal never obtained written consent before capturing the man’s biometric information or provided guidelines for the retention and destruction of his protected data, the case alleges.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone who had their face geometry collected and/or stored by BeReal while residing in Illinois.

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