Monkey

First Impression

I downloaded Monkey on a Tuesday night while scrolling through TikTok and seeing a bunch of people talking about it. My iPhone 15 Pro downloaded it in like ten seconds, and honestly, the first thing that hit me was how bright and colorful everything is. It kind of feels like a video game mixed with Instagram stories. You sign up with your Apple ID super fast, which I appreciated because I hate typing in passwords. Then it immediately throws you into swiping on people. I remember thinking, “Wait, this is live? Like, I’m about to video chat a stranger from Japan right now?” My heart was actually beating a little fast when I did my first match. Her name was Sarah and she was from Texas, and we just awkwardly laughed for about twenty seconds before the timer ran out. It was weird but also kinda fun. I was definitely curious after that first night.

What It Does Well

The core idea is actually pretty solid if you’re the type of person who gets bored of texting random people. The swipe-and-chat mechanic is super simple — you see someone’s face, you swipe right if you’re interested, and if they swipe right too, boom, you’re in a video call. There’s no awkward waiting for a reply. I liked that the calls have a timer, I think it’s like 10 or 15 seconds at first, which takes the pressure off. You don’t have to sit there wondering what to say for an hour. If it flows, you can add more time. I also thought the filters were fun, not gonna lie. I used this one that made me look like a cartoon character and my friend laughed so hard. The group chat rooms are there too, but I didn’t really use them much because I’m more of a one-on-one person. For a free app, it does give you a lot of random interactions, and sometimes you actually click with someone and have a real conversation. That happened to me once with a guy named Mike from the UK — we talked for like twenty minutes about bad movies.

Where It Falls Short

Okay, so here’s where things get messy. The biggest problem is the creep factor. I’d say about half the people I matched with were either bots or straight-up weirdos. One guy immediately started asking me for my Snapchat within two seconds, and another girl just stared at me without saying a word for the whole timer. It’s super hit or miss. I also noticed the app drains my iPhone battery like crazy. I was on it for maybe thirty minutes and my phone went from 80% to 45%. That’s wild. And the whole “safe environment” thing they advertise? I don’t really buy it. There’s a report button, sure, but I reported a guy who was being super inappropriate on Wednesday night, and it took them like four days to even acknowledge it. They just sent me a generic “we’re looking into it” message. That’s not cool. The matching algorithm also feels random. It says it matches you based on interests, but I kept getting paired with people who had nothing in common with me. I’m into video games and they’d be into fitness modeling. Doesn’t make sense.

Is It Worth the Price?

It’s free, so it’s not like you’re losing money. But you are losing your time and your patience. If you go into it expecting a perfect, safe way to make friends, you’re going to be disappointed. But if you’re just curious and want to kill some time while lying in bed, it’s fine for what it is. I wouldn’t pay for any of the premium stuff they try to push on you. There’s a subscription for “more matches” and “verified badges,” but honestly, who cares? The free version already gives you more random people than you probably want to talk to. I’d say it’s worth a download if you’re bored, but don’t expect it to change your social life or anything. It’s more like a digital fidget spinner than a real friendship app.

Developer & Support

So this is where I got frustrated. I had this issue where my video kept freezing on my end but the other person’s video was fine. I thought it was my Wi-Fi, but it happened on 5G too. So I reached out to their support through the app’s help section. I submitted a ticket on a Friday evening. Didn’t hear anything back until Monday afternoon, and when they finally replied, it was some generic copy-paste response about “restarting my device and checking connection.” Like, yeah, thanks, I already tried that. I replied asking for actual help, and they ghosted me. Totally silent after that. It’s been two weeks now and the issue still isn’t fixed. That just tells me they don’t really care about individual user problems. They’re probably just overwhelmed with reports about the bad behavior on the app. So don’t expect white-glove service or anything.

Privacy & Safety

This worries me the most, honestly. The app asks for camera and microphone access, which makes sense, but it also asks for your location and access to your photo library for profile pictures. I didn’t give it my photo library access because I don’t trust random apps with my vacation photos. Also, the fact that strangers can record your video chats? I think that’s a feature they have, and that freaks me out. I don’t want some random dude in another country having a recording of me in my pajamas. They say they have moderation, but based on how long it took them to handle my report, I don’t have much faith. I’d say use a fake name, don’t show your face if you’re uncomfortable, and definitely don’t share any personal info. It’s basically the wild west out there.