virtual makeout.
Tired of your parents pestering you about being single? Jealous of your friends that are all coupled up? Or are you simply too busy to deal with being in an actual relationship? Say hello to Invisible Girlfriend. We’ve all seen our share of weird apps and programs but this one definitely takes the cake.
Simply put, it’s a membership service that offers different “plans” that help you create a fake girlfriend who is believable to your friends, family and work associates. After selecting your Invisible Girlfriend from an extensive library, you get to customize her personality and choose how the two of you will interact (kind of sounds like a Tamagotchi or Giga Pet. Anyone remember having those back in the ‘90s?)
Once you’ve made your choices in regards to your Invisible Girlfriend’s physical appearance and personality, next comes the commitment plan. For just $9.99 a month, you can ease into things with the “Just Talking” plan. This includes interactive SMS texts, automated phone calls from your girlfriend, an emergency interaction button (we’re assuming if your mom suddenly demands that you hand the phone over so she can say hello to your “girlfriend”), as well as simple gifts.
Once you’re more comfortable with your Invisible Girlfriend, you may want to take things to the next level with the “Getting Serious” plan. This includes all of the benefits from the previous level as well as other bonus features that includes real voicemails, random gifts and notes, as well as the ability to put “in a relationship” on your Facebook profile, all for $29.99 a month.
And once you’ve decided that she’s “the One,” it only takes $49.99 to join the premier “Almost Engaged” plan. This includes live phone calls, custom girlfriend characterization and the ability to create your own story. And unlike the other two plans, this one is ad-free.
Upon visiting the website, there wasn’t much in the way of information aside from a list of the plans and pricing. There was one testimonial from “Joe Thompson,” a bachelor from Ann Arbor, Michigan who has his arm around an invisible figure and text next to him that reads: “My invisible girlfriend allows me to focus on my work and not on my dating!” I couldn’t help but wonder if Joe was fake as well, but who knows? At least he looks happy.
Invisible Girlfriend’s creator Matt Homann explained the reasoning behind creating the company: “Our audience might come from a variety of situations: maybe they’re in a same-sex relationship they’re hiding from disapproving relatives, are trying to avoid the unwelcome advances from a coworker, or have chosen to focus on their work instead of romance. We’re not trying to build a girlfriend they can believe in – that’s a whole other level of technology. We’re giving them a better story to tell, even if the story isn’t true.”
So it looks like there are some uses for the app. It sounds like a fun little way to pass the time or fool around, maybe prank some people, but even if I were single I feel like I could just get a friend to pretend to be my boyfriend if I needed help getting rid of a pesky coworker. And for those prices, wouldn’t it make more sense to join a dating website and actually try to find love or take a real girl out on a date?
Oh, and just in case you ladies out there were wondering: an Invisible Boyfriend version is currently in the works.
