Dating on Facebook? Zuckerberg announced today that the social media platform is indeed coming out with a new “dating layer” for singles on its mobile app.
According to Quartz, Match Group, owner of popular dating services Match.com, Tinder and OKCupid, saw its stock go down by over 18 percent when the news broke.
“This is going to be for building real, long-term relationships — not just for hookups,” Zuckerberg joked during the F8 Developers Conference in San Jose, according to The Verge. (Ha ha?)
Though there is limited information at this time, here’s everything we’ve gathered so far.
Dating on Facebook: what we know
There’s no launch date yet and there’s no association with Messenger
No timeline was disclosed, but more information should be released later this year, and a Facebook spokesperson told Metro that they expect to start testing the new service in the coming months.
Also, messaging with this dating layer will be separate from Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
It will be optional and won’t be open to everyone
The Verge reported that dating on Facebook will be optional, and it may not be available to people whose profiles list them as being “in a relationship” or “married.”
Zuckerberg wants dating on Facebook to be for users who list themselves as “single” — which seems like common sense but is worth noting.
It will be focused on community
Chris Cox, Facebook’s chief of product, told developers at today’s conference that dating on Facebook will be more “community-focused, with integrations for the events and groups you’re a part of on the platform,” reported The Verge.
The company spokesperson further told Metro that they are “most excited about how [dating on Facebook] can work seamlessly with other Facebook experiences like Events and Groups. For example, you can unlock a group or event to see and be seen by other people who match your preferences — if they’ve also joined dating.”
Cox specifically classified this as the “unlocking” feature.
Which brings us to this: Dating on Facebook will be private
Zuckerberg stressed that the new dating layer will be big on privacy: “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, who have opted into dating, who fit your preferences.”
To view pictures of what this new feature may look like, click over to The Verge.
Watch Zuckerberg speak about dating on Facebook below
“Long-term relationships, not just hookups”: Mark Zuckerberg announces that Facebook is getting into dating https://t.co/3TGINjlYVh pic.twitter.com/tWGPcObnP2
— CNN International (@cnni) May 1, 2018
