Provision record
BeReal · BeReal Privacy Policy · View original document ↗

Phone Contacts Upload for Friend Discovery

Medium severity Common · 296 of 352 platforms
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Document Record

What it is

BeReal may ask for access to your phone's contact list to help you find friends on the platform. This means contact data from people who have not agreed to BeReal's terms is uploaded to BeReal's servers.

This analysis describes what BeReal's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

The provision establishes a permissioning mechanism for contact data access, making friend discovery functionality dependent on user authorization. This defines the operational conditions under which BeReal processes contact information from a user's device.

Recent Activity

This document changed recently

Medium Jul 8, 2026

The updated policy now requires email address in addition to phone number, full name, and date of birth to create an account. BeReal discloses that it derives likely gender from your username, first name, and biography using AI, and uses this classification for internal targeting purposes. The policy also reveals that a randomized sample of 0.001% of users will have their interface interactions (touches and swipes) recorded through an analytics partner for up to 90 days to understand how users navigate the app; this practice does not apply in all geographic regions. You can review your app settings or contact BeReal to inquire about your data collection status.

View change record →

Clause Stability Stable

0
Changes
5
Months Monitored
Apr 3, 2026
First Seen
Apr 17, 2026
Last Seen
This clause type exists across 4187 other provisions on other platforms.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Granting contact access gives BeReal data about non-users in your network without their knowledge or consent, which raises significant third-party privacy concerns.

What you can do

⚠️ These actions may provide transparency or partial mitigation but may not fully address the underlying issue. Effectiveness varies by jurisdiction and individual circumstances.
  • Opt Out of Arbitration
    Open your phone's Settings, go to Privacy or App Permissions, select Contacts, find BeReal, and toggle off contact access to prevent your contact list from being uploaded.

How other platforms handle this

ZipRecruiter Medium

You may give us your Identity Data, Contact Data, Financial Data, Profile Data, and other information by filling in forms or by corresponding with us by post, phone, e-mail or otherwise.

NVIDIA NIM Medium

telemetry information collected includes: (i) microservice settings, (ii) usage data and (iii) hardware environment.

Glassdoor Medium

Some of our ad partners may also enable us to collect similar data directly from their website or app by integrating our or our affiliates' advertising technology.

See all platforms with this clause type →
▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
You can decide to allow BeReal to access your address book to identify the friends in your Address Book who may already be on BeReal or to recommend you new friends. We do not access your Address Book without your permission.

Excerpt from BeReal's Privacy Policy

ConductAtlas Analysis

Institutional analysis (regulatory & governance intelligence)

Third-party contact data collection implicates GDPR Article 6 legitimate interests balancing tests and has been an enforcement focus for EU data protection authorities; companies must ensure the processing of non-user contact data has a lawful …

Insight

Unlock the full institutional analysis

Enforcement risk, jurisdiction flags, contract triggers, and due diligence action items.

Applicable agencies

  • Federal Trade Commission (ftc)
    Oversees unfair or deceptive business practices and can investigate companies that mislead consumers about data collection, sharing, or use.
    Who can file: Anyone affected by the company's practices (US or international)
    What you need: Your account details, a timeline of relevant events, and a description of the specific issue
    What to expect: Complaints inform FTC enforcement priorities and investigations but do not result in individual resolution or compensation
    File a complaint →

Applicable regulations

CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
COPPA
United States Federal
Connecticut Data Privacy Act Amendments
US-CT
CAN-SPAM
United States Federal
ePrivacy Directive
European Union
FTC Act Section 5
United States Federal
GDPR
European Union
Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act
US-IN
Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act
US-KY
Universal Opt-Out Mechanism Expansion 2026
US

Provision details

Document information
Document
BeReal Privacy Policy
Entity
BeReal
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
March 20, 2026
Last verified
March 20, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-001309
Document ID
CA-D-00250
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
4d935d53ed9663cf96d1775f96c271d89ff3f9a37557b2797d6e4eee6f1993b2
Analysis generated
March 20, 2026 06:48 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: BeReal
Document: BeReal Privacy Policy
Record ID: CA-P-001309
Captured: 2026-03-20 06:48:38 UTC
SHA-256: 4d935d53ed9663cf…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/bereal/bereal-privacy-policy/provision/CA-P-001309/phone-contacts-upload-for-friend-discovery/
Accessed: Sept. 8, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

Other risks in this policy

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does BeReal's Phone Contacts Upload for Friend Discovery clause do?

The provision establishes a permissioning mechanism for contact data access, making friend discovery functionality dependent on user authorization. This defines the operational conditions under which BeReal processes contact information from a user's device.

How does this clause affect you?

Granting contact access gives BeReal data about non-users in your network without their knowledge or consent, which raises significant third-party privacy concerns.

How many platforms have this type of clause?

ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 296 platforms. See the full comparison.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with BeReal?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by BeReal.