(The 2026 DC/DOX Documentary Film Festival ran June 11-14. Check out Chris Reed’s Love Apptually movie review, fresh from the fest. Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.)
Finding a companion—whether for a moment, a lifetime, or somewhere in between—has always posed certain challenges. With the rise of online dating in the 1990s, the search for love (or lust) was suddenly made easier, or so it seemed at the time. Then, in the 21st century’s smartphone era, some clever souls designed the next logical thing: apps.
Whether Bumble, Grindr, Hinge, Tinder, or any of the other algorithms out there is your thing, there is the semblance of choice, and a lot of it. Not so fast. Thanks to director Shalini Kantayya’s new documentary, Love Apptually, we learn the truth about our chances, as well as the (not such a surprise) profit motive that drives the modern universe. Swipe left, swipe right, the real winner is the software developer.
Or, rather, the owner of said program, which in most cases is Match Group. You may think that switching it up and downloading OK Cupid instead of Plenty of Fish will present new options, but you would be wrong. It’s not a Wild West out there, but a (virtual) corporate monopoly.
Kantayya (TikTok, Boom) interviews experts and romantic hopefuls, both. In the case of French journalist Judith Duportail, she belongs to each category. It is her experience with Tinder (not a good one) that led her to write about it. Given the robust privacy laws in Europe, she was able to obtain access to the data that the company kept on her connections, chats, and more, including her rating (called an Elo score, a term that comes from the gaming universe). She was disturbed by what she saw, and the conclusions she made from the report inform the movie.
Some of what we learn does not shock: capitalism is about money, so no great bombshell there. But Duportail does uncover some disturbing cause and effect between how the apps match users and the loneliness epidemic of today, especially among young men. From there, she draws a direct line to the toxic manosphere and increasing amount of online misogyny. Blame it all on Tinder? Maybe not, but it’s certainly a factor.
Not all is doom and gloom. Kantayya also profiles a young couple who meet via a service called Nevermet, where users interact through an entirely VR interface. This promotes actual conversation (at least in the example we see). It’s a nail-biter observing Heda board a plane in Florida to go meet her prospective beau, Alex, in Michigan, for the first time. Will their real-life chemistry prove as magical as that in Nevermet? Watch and discover for yourself.
In the end, Love Apptually offers a dynamic visual exploration of dating in the current age. This is where we are, for better or for worse, and thanks to a diverse array of voices, gay and straight, we cover a wide range of circumstances. Forewarned is forearmed, know before you go, and swipe with care. Or, perhaps, talk to someone you meet the old-fashioned way, in person.
– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm)
