Have you ever complained, “I just don’t know where to meet people” or “all the good ones are taken.” While that might have been true in your little hamlet before the days of internet dating, it most definitely isn’t true anymore. Facebook has always been known for connecting billions of people around the world, little surprise they have decided to join the likes of Tinder and match.com to connect people to the love of their lives.
Facebook dating is now live in the US for users from the ages of 18 and above. Although Facebook Dating exists within the Facebook app, you still need to set up a separate profile. You can find it by navigating to the top-right menu in the same place as marketplace and groups.
Facebook Dating now serves as the “perfect matchmaker,” presenting you with potential matches based on your Facebook activities. To aid privacy, not to worry, it won’t make visible your existing Facebook friends – that optional is turned off by default. The most talked-about feature is the secret crush list; this allows users to compile a list of up to nine friends they have an interest in, and once one of those interests indicates they have a crush back, a connection is made.
“If someone’s interested in you, you should know, because that’s what it’s like in real life,” said Charmaine Hung, the product manager of Dating at Facebook.
You could also add your Instagram and Facebook friends to the list – sadly, not your favourite celebrity crush unless they are following you. You can block people from seeing your Facebook Dating profile while they maintain access to your Facebook or Instagram accounts.
Facebook Dating is presenting US adults with a wider pool of potentials and a more private way to meet the one. It just may be time to look in a bigger pool seeing that the world has become a much smaller place. On the safety angle, it is good to know that Facebook Dating has a new “Share Your Plans” feature that lets you share your location with a friend/loved one when you meet someone.
Prior to the US launch, since September 2018, Facebook Dating was released in Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Suriname, Thailand, ?? and Vietnam. Europeans will have to wait until early 2020 to gain access to the service. Facebook is yet to say when Africans get to use the service?
It is time to update your app to get the most recent version of Facebook. The love of your life may just be an app away.
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