A blank little account showed up in my suggested follows one ordinary Tuesday. I almost ignored it. Then I looked closer at the photo.

I ordered a surprise present for my boyfriend from the same little shop he'd been following. The owner read his name and went very, very quiet.

I was half-asleep, scrolling past a silly street quiz, when something in the blurry background of the video made me sit up and stop breathing.

A blunt proposition lands in her inbox from a man she barely knows. Then she notices who is smiling beside him in his profile photo.

I was half-asleep, tapping through stories on the couch, when a stranger's face appeared where his should have been — smiling like she belonged there.

He swore he only used the app for scores and headlines. Then one bored Sunday afternoon I tapped a tab I had never thought to open before.