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.
Facebook which is the world’s largest social media platform, on which more than 200m people list themselves as single, said that Facebook Dating would will help daters start “meaningful relationships through things you have in common”.
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, 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 simply ‘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.
The company said it hoped the opt-in service would give people “a more authentic look at who someone is”, by allowing users to integrate the interests, groups, events and photos linked to their Facebook profile.
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 20 countries Facebook Dating is currently available in are: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Guyana, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Suriname, Thailand, Uruguay, Vietnam, and the United States.
