‘Invisible Boyfriend’ May Be the Saddest Thing Ever

Is your love life nonexistent? Are you sick of unsolicited relationship questions from your coworkers, mail lady, or parents? Then put down the catnip and carton of chunky monkey and say hello to your new virtual man.

With the help of Invisible Boyfriend, $25 per month can get you all the fake relationship proof you need to fool any unsuspecting meddlers. For those singles who like the superficialness of Tinder but want to put in zero work, you can sign up for a profile with this app and pick from a selection of online photos to begin creating your perfect boyfriend or girlfriend. You can also pick his name (mine would be Aubrey Graham), age, and even craft his personality. Then users can text their new fake boyfriend, and get this–he texts back!

What’s probably the most shocking thing about this site is that the fake boyfriends are actually real guys! One Washington Post reporter actually found herself falling for her faux beau. According to her invisible boyfriend he’s not the only one she’s talking to. She explains:

The service’s texting operation is powered by CrowdSource, a St. Louis-based tech company that manages 200,000 remote, microtask-focused workers. When I send a text to the Ryan number saved in my phone, the message routes through Invisible Boyfriend, where it’s anonymized and assigned to some Amazon Turk or Fivrr freelancer. He (or she) gets a couple of cents to respond. He never sees my name or number, and he can’t really have anything like an actual conversation with me

This app is probably one of the saddest/creepiest things I’ve ever seen.  I applaud the developers for seeing a niche audience’s unmet need and finding a way to service it, but the whole concept is bound to backfire. What happens when the people you’re fooling want to meet this prince charming? Have fun explaining that one.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.