
Is It You or the App? Why Online Dating Feels Impossible for Black Women (Love Apptually) with Shalini Kantayya
Is it you, or is it the app? If you feel like you’re playing the same game on dating apps every day, this episode is for you. I sat down with filmmaker Shalini Kantayya, director of Love Apptually, a documentary about dating apps and modern dating culture. We talk about the hidden “desirability scores” apps have been reported to use, what happens to your most intimate data, and what Black and brown women experience online. I also share the results of an internal study where 75 of my clients switched their profile race from Black to white and back, and what changed. Keep your eyes open, and stop making it about you. Is Hinge Racist? My 6-Week Black Women Racial Hinge Study Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome + meet Shalini Kantayya 01:30 Why she made Love Apptually 03:00 From the attention economy to the "intimacy economy" 04:45 Two companies and the dating app market 06:30 Why you feel stuck: the endless scroll and the paradox of choice 08:30 Hidden "desirability scores" on dating apps 11:45 How apps may rank women and people of color 15:00 Your data: what apps know, sell, and don't tell you 17:05 Pre-order Girl, Get Your Guy 18:25 Anything good about dating apps? (and the app-free December challenge) 20:15 What Black and brown women experience on the apps 21:30 Why men feel dehumanized too: match rates and the manosphere 24:30 My study: 75 clients switched their profile race 28:45 Why my program uses apps less (referrals and offline) 29:30 Vulnerability: why taking the mask off creates intimacy 32:20 Where to watch Love Apptually Watch Love Apptually: Wednesday, November 18, 2026 at 8:00 PM Venue: Village East by Angelika, 181 Second Ave New York City Available for special DOC NYC digital screening across the U.S. for one week beginning November 18th DOC NYC & VIRTUAL TICKETS: https://www.docnyc.net/film/love-apptually The premiere will be followed by a special Q&A with the director moderated by Faith Hill, staff writer of The Atlantic. BIO: Shalini Kantayya is an acclaimed film director whose work marries the future of technology with the future of story. Her film TikTok, Boom. premiered at Sundance 2022, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize, and earned a 2023 Emmy nomination. Coded Bias (Sundance 2020), hailed as “the most important film about AI you can see today,” earned Emmy, Critics’ Choice, and NAACP Image Award nominations and reached global audiences on Netflix. Love Apptually completes her trilogy tracing the arc of technological power: from bias in code, to global attention, to the systems mediating human intimacy. Her debut, Catching the Sun, was a New York Times Critics’ Pick. Kantayya is a TED Fellow, Fulbright Scholar, and Sundance Fellow. Shalini's Links → Website | Instagram | Facebook | Speaking Agent Take 10 seconds to tap Follow so you never miss an episode. And if this one hit home, send it to the girlfriend who needs to hear it. Take the Dating Archetype Quiz Ways I can help you: Pre-order my book, Girl, Get Your Guy! (launching February 2, 2027). Book a call with me. Join the Get Your Guy Club Missed my Q&A TikTok Lives? Catch up here! Sincerely, Coach Anwar Send us Fan Mail Thank you for listening, girl. If this episode helped you, here’s how you can help me (it takes less than a minute): Tap Follow on Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode Leave a rating or a short review. Tell me what clicked for you. I read them! Every follow and share helps more women find this podcast and get ready for the love they deserve. Sincerely, Coach Anwar











