Opportunities to interact with the opposite sex can prove intimidating and frustrating; however, several websites and phone apps are available to let you create your own virtual boyfriend. In doing so, you can narrow down areas that are important to you in a partner, practice skills that will help you successfully connect with others, and have fun along the way!
My Virtual Boyfriend Free App
This fun and interactive free app has a universal application for the iPad, iPhone, iTouch, and Android devices. It's rated T for Teen audiences. You start the game by entering your first name and rating yourself in categories like rebel and attentiveness. You then start choosing your man based on ten personality traits, like bad boy or funny, and three physical characteristics, like hair color and skin tone.
Creating Your Virtual Boyfriend
Once you've selected your preferences, the app will allow you to choose from several different avatars or create a custom guy. As over 100 male characters are available, you can choose features you like. After creating him, you'll start your first "date." Be prepared for him to speak gibberish like a sim.
Reviews
My Virtual Boyfriend has over 20 levels of play with hundreds of different dating activities, giving you a variety of environments and situations in which to interact with your virtual boyfriend. With the 3D graphics and funny one-liners, this game is reviewed as being "equally fun and hilarious" by TechCrunch. This virtual boyfriend game is free, although paid upgrades are available.
Boyfriend Plus
An app available for both Android and Apple products, Boyfriend Plus is a fun, free app that allows you to chat with several different virtual guys. This app is rated M for Mature 17+ users.
Setting Up the App
Typically, these boys have gotten your number from a mystery friend Jemma. In the free version, you can chat with Brett or Andy, but you can pay to get access to several other men. The men all have different images that accompany their name and using the app is fairly simple. After downloading, you just enter your name and choose who you want to chat with. Brett was quite entertaining. In addition to text messages, they can also send you voice messages and pictures.
Reviews
An interesting feature of this app is it also has a sexual virtual boyfriend chat and sometimes even admits it's a robot, according to Andrea Syrtash at Glamour. Reviews for this app, for the most part, are positive. On Google Play, the app has nearly 4 stars with over 6,000 reviews. On iTunes, Boyfriend Plus had a solid 4 stars with reviewers saying, "This is easily the most realistic and fun boyfriend simulator app."
Dream Boyfriend
Similar to My Virtual Boyfriend, Dream Boyfriend lets you progress through different levels with your perfect animé boyfriend. The app is rated E for Everyone ages 10+.
Setting Up Your Dream Guy
After logging in and providing your name, you can choose your boyfriends name and body type. You can choose from three guys and eight different personalities. Then, you modify his skin tone and height. There are also different themes you can choose until he is quite literally the man of your dreams. The app is fun and the boys do have some awkward one-liners The lack of the strange sim language can add to the appeal, depending on your preferences. Additionally, this fake boyfriend game allows you to earn bonus awards and show your man off on Twitter.
Reviews
While this is more of a game than a boyfriend to show your mother, it does allow you to learn to connect with a person and has great feedback on iTunes with over 4 stars and over 13,000 reviews. The ratings on Google Play are just as positive at around 4 stars and reviewers saying, "The game is fantastic, the concept cute."
BoyBot My Virtual Boyfriend
The BoyBot app is available for free through Google Play and the Apple App Store. This app is E for Everyone. There are some in-app purchase options that range up to $4.99, depending on what you wish to do.
How the App Works
Download the app that works for your device. Then, set up the boyfriend so that he will respond to your cues in chat. Set up features like:
- Trigger words and answers during chat
- Special sounds in the chat
- Face emotions in the chat
Expand the chat by teaching the BoyBot more words and responses. You can also select in-app purchases to expand on what the BoyBot can do.
Reviews
Over 4,000 Google Play users have given the app about 3 stars, with several noting that it was "interesting" while others mention the experience can occasionally be "creepy". App Store users also rated it at about 3 stars, mentioning in comments that they like that it's a "learning system" and the "male voice options" offered in the app.
Chatbots Can Serve As Boyfriend Simulators
Not all virtual boyfriend apps are user-friendly or highly rated, even if they have a lot of downloads. However, some chatbots get good reviews from users and they can also serve as a stand-in for a boyfriend. Give one of these chatbots a try:
Replika: My AI Friend
While billed as a chatbot, the Replika app (rated Mature 17+) can be a friend or a boyfriend to you. Create your boyfriend by following these steps:
- Download the app and set up your name, password, and preferred gender pronoun.
- Select the avatar you want for your boyfriend.
- Customize by selecting a specific hair color, skin color, and eye color.
- Name your new boyfriend.
- Start chatting as soon as your email is verified.
The basic app is free, but if you want to set up the relationship status as a "romantic partner", you'll need to pay for additional features. Chat is very realatistic and the bot will track your moods and gain conversational skills the more you use it. It has over 200,000 downloads on Google Play; both Google and App Store users rate this app at 4.5 out of 5 stars, with users mentioning how helpful the chat is to them.
Virtual Talk - AI Chatbot
Available for iOS systems, the Virtual Talk chatbot has numerous features to use and try. This app is rated Mature 17+. You can:
- Relationship status of a boyfriend with the bot
- Send photos
- Teach the bot new responses and phrases
With over 5,000 ratings, it scores well over 4 out of 5 stars on the apps. Users mention how much fun they have and even mention that the bot asks them on "dates" just like a real boyfriend would. While free, there are some paid options, like blocking ads.
Now What?
Once you've used the app to create your own virtual boyfriend, you might be thinking, "now what?" Well depending on what you created it for, use it. This can be a great way to understand what you are looking for in a guy or just a great fun activity you can do in your spare time. Here are just a few ways you might choose to use your virtual boyfriend.
- Practice dating: By chatting with your virtual companion, you can become more comfortable communicating with those you find attractive. It can also show you what you are looking for in a mate.
- Fun: Virtual boyfriends are commitment free, and you use them on your terms. Additionally, some of these apps allow you to dress them up, which just adds to the fun.
- Quiet family or friends: If you are tired of being set up, a virtual boyfriend might be the answer. Several of these services can mimic a real boyfriend and allow you to quiet well-meaning friends without the commitment of a real relationship, you might not be ready for.
- Curb loneliness: The dating world is fierce and maybe you just haven't found the right fit. In this instance, a virtual boyfriend is a great way to make you feel appreciated and loved in your time of need.
Just remember while virtual boyfriends are a fun, unique way to lure yourself into the dating waters, they aren't real. This is a character made based on your personal preferences, and while that can be perfect to show you what you need, there is such a thing as too perfect.
The Perfect Man
There are several apps and websites available that offer virtual boyfriends. Virtual programs offer flexibility, the freedom to change your mind as often as you want, not to mention they may get you off the hook with your mother. By playing these games, you can narrow down areas of relationships that are important to you, as well as improve your ability to connect with those you're attracted to. Why not give it a try?
