Facebook is getting into the online dating business. Facebook recently announced that they will be launching a dating service on the popular site later this year. But will it compete with Tinder and Bumble?
Facebook Dating Service is Introduced
Facebook announced the dating service a few months ago.
"There are 200 million people on Facebook who list themselves as single," said CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at Facebook’s yearly F8 developer conference. "So clearly there’s something to do here",said Zuckerberg.
Chris Cox, Facebook’s chief product officer, insists that Facebook’s dating app will connect people better in real life. "It mirrors the way people actually date, which is usually at events and institutions that they’re connected to,"said Cox.
One of the great ironies for me is that when a lot of us joined the very first version of the service in 2004, back when it was just a handful of college students, we were convinced that dating would be the next feature Facebook was going to add,” Cox said on stage at Facebook’s conference last week. “We were right, just 14 years too early.”said Cox.
How Facebook Dating Service Will Work
The Facebook dating service will work in a simple way.
- When a user who’s listed as single on Facebook clicks on their profile, they can click on a heart icon.
- The icon will then link to local events that a user wants to attend.
- Once the user clicks on an event, the site will then link to other people who are interested in the event and will attend, too.
- A user can then text a person that they’re interested in to chat and go out on date with as well.
Privacy Issues
The Facebook dating service has raised concerns about privacy, especially in light of the recent Cambridge Analytica data mining scandal Facebook is trying to overcome. Zuckerberg insists that users’ safety will be important while using the service.
“We have designed this with privacy and safety in mind from the beginning. Your friends aren’t going to see your profile, and you’re only going to be suggested to people who are not your friends”, said Zuckerberg.
Is Facebook Dating Site a Copycat?
When the prototype of the Facebook dating app was sent out, some instantly saw the resemblance between the site and Hinge, another dating app.
Hinge decided to shade Facebook for having a similar design on their dating app. "When the Hinge team saw the similarity between our designs, particularly the profile and liking interaction, we congratulated each other. It’s gratifying to have one of the world’s biggest technology companies enter the dating space and draw so much inspiration from Hinge," said Tim MacGougan ,Hinge’s vice president of product."
Hopefully, Facebook can make a dating site that connects people safely online and in real life once it works out the bugs before its premiere. Facebook users will be glad to have yet another online option to help them find love.