Facebook has officially launched a Dating App

Earlier this year, Mark Zuckerberg’s infamous social media company Facebook announced they were taking steps towards a more intimate direction with the launch of an online Facebook Dating App. During a developers conference in May, Zuckerberg revealed that him and his team were working on an a dating app that would deliver strong privacy and safety protections for its users and had launched it in-house for testing with US Facebook employees only. 

Since then, the app has recently been officially launched on the market and is now available in the US. According to sources, the app is entirely different than the actual Facebook app, and users over 18 have to manually set up a completely separate dating profile a part from their Facebook pages. However although the app is entirely separate from a user’s Facebook profile, to suggest matches, it will gather information from your preferences, interests and activities on Facebook and propose dating suggestions of friends of friends and people outside of your circle with similar interests. Apparently, the only way the app will show members of your Facebook friend list as potential matches, is if you specifically add them to your “Secret Crush” list, which in this case they will only know you’re interested if they also have a Facebook Dating profile and are mutually interested. 

Daters can also link their dating profiles with Instagram by adding their Instagram posts directly to their Facebook Dating app profiles and add instagram users as a part of their “Secret Crush” list. 

Facebook Dating has launched at quite a controversial time for the social media company, seeing that a few months ago they were summoned to pay a $5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly violating the law by failing to protect data from third parties, and serving ads through the use of phone numbers that were provided for security, and lying to its users that its facial recognition software was turned off by default. Naturally, this has sparked speculation as to whether the company with so many allegations of privacy breaches would be best to enter into such an intimate field like dating. 

One of the new app’s potential competitors, Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Match Group - owner of Tinder, OKCupid and Match.com, commented on the launch saying, “We’re surprised at the timing given the amount of personal and sensitive data that comes with this territory. Regardless, we’re going to continue to delight our users through product innovation and relentless focus on relationship success. We understand this category better than anyone.”

Yet having access to it’s user’s personal data is why Facebook Dating is claiming it would be the perfect channel to pair you with the best match of like interests. “Facebook Dating makes it easier to find love through what you like — helping you start meaningful relationships through things you have in common, like interests , events and groups,” the company explained in the press release. 

Facebook has confirmed that the app will be released in Europe by early 2020, will you be signing up?