Earlier this month, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, announced that the social media platform will soon release its own dating app. At the company’s annual developer conference, Zuckerberg revealed that there are 200 million users on Facebook who classify themselves as single, and explained how the platform has enormous potential to match these singles up with prospective partners.
The service, simply called “Dating”, will give Facebook users the option to opt-in and create their own profile which will be kept completely separate to their existing profiles and friends. Using a unique algorithm, Facebook will then create matches based on preferences, interests, and location. Users can also be recommended to other singles through shared groups, or events they may be attending, giving singles the opportunity to meet. Zuckerberg says “The more active you are in the communities around you, the more opportunities you’ll have to meet awesome people”.
Unlike some of its rivals, Facebook is positioning “Dating” as the service that won’t just be for hook-ups, but rather real, long-term relationships, based on its unique algorithm. Facebook says the app will be designed with privacy and safety in mind from the beginning, and have made it clear that no data associated with the dating profile will be used to target ads. Off the back of a privacy breach will users of Facebook trust the platform with their most intimate details?
Jeanette Bonnici