In a new episode of "What were the developers thinking when they wrote this?", we invite you to explore the strange territory of apps and services that help us have a girlfriend without meeting the main requirements, including finding one. Google Play is full of apps offering questionable-quality images to paste girlfriends into your photos, but if that's not enough, you can look for a virtual girlfriend, either by downloading one or using online platforms.
When Technology Comes to the Rescue
Yes, this looks a bit like one of those very bad American romantic movies where the main character promises his family he will show up with a stable partner, and basically runs to ask a friend for help, only to discover that there is actually love between them, and tack on a "happy ending" at the end. The difference is that this time, it is technology that comes to the rescue. Some people will say that loneliness can lead us to do very strange things. One of the first examples that comes to mind is Gatebox, a Japanese project that aims to launch a virtual assistant based on an anime character to combat chronic loneliness. If Gatebox's price is a bit out of reach (almost 3,000 dollars) or the wait has become too long, the truth is that there are alternatives.
Girlfriend Photo Editor Apps
One of them is editing photos to include girlfriends, and when we search for this software on Google Play, we discovered that there are at least a dozen apps called Girlfriend Photo Editor. The sample images are... striking, to say the least. Considering the broken English of the descriptions and the usage examples, the suspicion is that these apps target very specific markets, like India. Another detail to keep in mind is that most of these apps are very recent. The oldest I found was published in July 2017, and another appeared in the store last week. Could the demand be so high, or are there other intentions? One can't help but think the apps come with some hidden gift, but if that were the case, they wouldn't be on the official Android store.
Virtual Girlfriends and Beyond
If editing photos and inserting models to be our fantasy girlfriends isn't ideal, we can look for a virtual girlfriend. And if you're thinking of "virtual girlfriend" as a "Tamagotchi", again, Google Play has what you need. Two of the available apps are My Virtual Manga Girl and Virtual Girlfriend 3D, where you can customize your digital companion to your liking, changing eyes, skin color, hair, clothes, and more. All recent anime-inspired apps seem to be derived from the free asset "Unity-chan!" that is downloaded from Unity's page. Now, if the concept of "waifu-on-the-phone" doesn't interest you, something more aligned with online dating is Invisible Girlfriend, "a digital version of a real girlfriend, without the baggage". The service allows you to select photo, age, and personality, and the chats are created by "real writers". By the way, if any lady is reading this, they also offer Invisible Boyfriend.
In summary, whether out of simple curiosity, the intention to prank someone, or a specific personal need, the software for searching-finding-creating virtual girlfriends exists, is out there, and is free. Enjoy...?
