Setlog: the new video application inspired by BeReal that appeals to Generation Z

On the French BeReal application, Internet users receive a reminder, once a day, to take a spontaneous photo and share it with their friends. With Setlog, the new application that is a hit with Generation Z in East Asia, the concept goes further. Once an hour, users are invited to go to the social network to record a 2 to 4 second video. At the end of the day, the app puts all of these clips together into a summary video, or “vlog.”

Launched barely six months ago, Setlog has won over 10 million users worldwide, and nearly 60 million videos are sent there every day, according to New Chat, the application's parent company, based in New York. The craze was first felt in South Korea, where Setlog was, in May, the third most popular app in the local App Store. Today, most users now come from Japan.

From a two-person discussion to a group with 12 people

On the Setlog interface, there is no news feed or recommendation algorithm. The social network presents itself more as a way to get news from your friends via videos, like SnapChat. New Chat founder Devin Doty also spent eight years at Snap, as a Product Designer. It was because there was a lack of an alternative to SnapChat in South Korea that he first targeted that market, he explained to Bloomberg.

The “log” functionality allows you to create a group of up to twelve people. Videos must be recorded directly in the app, without any filters or editing possible. By allowing people to share their daily lives, unvarnished, Setlog also takes the opposite approach to a network like Instagram, perceived today by many as a space primarily targeting advertising, brands or influencers. Setlog users have already got used to it and “trends” are already emerging, such as the “Rainbow Challenge”, which consists of coordinating all the members of a group to take a photo of an object of the same color.

To access these “logs” as a group, you must first receive an invitation from a friend. Thus, videos in a loop cannot be viewed by unknown users. Furthermore, the application claims not to collect data on age or gender. According to Kaito Nishimura, head of a marketing agency specializing in youth trends, based in Tokyo, interviewed by Bloomberg, this aspect particularly reassures young users of the social network. “There is a fear of being hit on or receiving inappropriate photos online,” he emphasizes.

Use by K-Pop stars

Beyond this function, there is also a “solo” mode and a “zip” mode, launched in June. The latter allows you to send photos with a single person, without filter. Photos can only be viewed once, and it is not possible to comment on them or respond to them with a message. To react, you must send a photo in return.

Setlog first gained popularity when celebrities, especially K-Pop stars, used the app to show behind the scenes of their concerts, or moments from their daily lives. The nine members of the South Korean group Seventeen notably used Setlog to immortalize their eleventh birthday party. The “vlog” was then published on other social networks, where it was re-shared en masse by their fans.