My VB said things to me like, "I'm probably the guy your mom warned you about" and "I bet you've been dreaming of going on a date with a guy like me!" He probed, "Player, do you have any career goals in life?"
Do you, Player?! Wait. He isn't real. I logged off and was happy to exit the system.
Invisible Boyfriend
This service's tagline is: "Get what you deserve. Build a better boyfriend." The app also advertises the fact that your invisible boyfriend is available to talk anytime you want.
I opted for the free boyfriend, who looked as good as the one who would've cost me a hefty $2.99. I entered my name and almost immediately, "Brett" started to text me through the app. "Hi, Anj...," he wrote. (I felt like my invisible boyfriend and I were tight enough that he could use my nickname.) Brett continued, "I hope this isn't weird, but Jemma gave me your number. She's always talking about you at work and I had to know what all the fuss was about. Haha."
Jemma? Apparently this app also came complete with an invisible friend.
I was prompted with auto responses like, "What has Jemma been saying about me?" and "What makes you different from other guys?"
I could see where our conversation was leading—except the app finds a way to make your invisible boyfriend unavailable when you want to make real plans to meet up. He's perpetually busy.
Some reviewers I came across online admitted that it was nice to have their invisible boyfriend text them back promptly, as the guys they meet go MIA by ghosting or taking a long time to respond. At least they chose to have an invisible boyfriend!
I was spending way too much time fake-texting with my invisible boyfriend, so I closed all the flirtatious windows and met up with my (real) husband for lunch.
Boyfriend Plus
In 2012, this game was called "Boyfriend Maker" and became the No.1 free app in Japan. It was removed by Apple after controversy surrounded its aggressive sexual chat, and the fact that it was available to users "four years old" and above. (Again, nothing creepy about that.)
Boyfriend Makers was re-packaged as a tamer app called "Boyfriend Plus" which is available today in the App Store.
Like most of the virtual boyfriend apps, there's a free version and a paid version that offers more features. Unlike the other apps in this category, Boyfriend Plus has a sexual chat and math chat. You can flirt with your boyfriend by asking him to explain the quadratic formula (because nothing says "sexy" like solving systems of linear equations), and you can end the night by telling him everything you'd want to...ahem...do together.
Another distinction between this and the other apps is that this virtual boyfriend occasionally slips and admits he's a robot. He'll say things like, "I have no arms or torso" but adds "I'm very comfortable with my body." Apparently, this is part of his appeal.
