Facebook Dating is finally here. The social network launched the feature today in the US and 19 other countries, after announcing it last year at its F8 developer conference.
The feature will be available to users above the age of 18 and, for those eligible, will appear as a new tab in the Facebook app. Importantly, you’ll have a separate profile for Facebook Dating, meaning your, uh, activities won’t appear on your family’s newsfeed.
Once you sign up, you’ll get suggestions for matches as you do in any other dating app. You can comment on their dating profile or simple ‘like’ them. The company says it won’t suggest friends’ profile to you, unless you both add each other to a ‘Secret Crush’ list. So much for simplicity.
You can add friends or Instagram followers to the ‘Secret Crush’ list, and you’ll get a notification if they also add you to their list.
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Posted by Facebook on Wednesday, September 4, 2019
The company’s planning to integrate Facebook and Instagram stories into Dating soon, because it’s 2019, and every app or feature should have stories, right?
The new feature also works with groups and events (as an opt-in feature), so you can match with someone who’s into the same things.
The company says it has worked with a bunch of experts to make Dating a safe experience:
We worked with experts in these areas to build protections into Facebook Dating from the start, including the ability to report and block anyone; prohibiting people from sending photos, links, payments or videos in messages; and by providing easy access to safety tips. These features and others give you more control and peace of mind.
One unique feature Facebook has introduced is the ability to share details of an upcoming date with your friends and family. You can even share your live location using Messenger.
Apart from the US, Facebook Dating is available in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Guyana, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Suriname, Thailand, Uruguay, and Vietnam; it’ll arrive in Europe by 2020.
Due to the size of its user base, Facebook Dating will gain a lot of users, but try not to be fooled. This is just another attempt by the company to suck up more of people’s personal data, and most likely increase the time spent on the site. I mean, really, should you trust Facebook with your romantic data after its numerous breaches and oversights? Doubt it.
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