Earlier this year, Facebook announced it is working on a dating app in its annual F8 conference which is a rival to other online dating apps such as Tinder or Hinge. Four month after its initial introduction, Facebook Dating is now rolling out in Colombia for select users and it is expected to be available soon for everyone. Here’s it what to expect and the release date.
How to access Facebook Dating?
You might have assumed that Facebook will release a stand-alone application for its dating feature. However, the dating feature of Facebook lies within the application.
This means that to use the dating feature on Facebook, you just need to update your app to get the new feature once it has rolled out for everyone.
So, where exactly should I look for in the app to find this new feature? The dating feature is hidden behind the hamburger menu and you might not find it by taking your first look.
Who will be able to use Facebook Dating?
As I mentioned before, the dating feature of Facebook is now available only in Colombia and people of at least 18 years of age will be able to create a profile on it. Once a critical mass is reached, users will be able to find matches.
This service is designed facilitate a long-term and meaningful relationship rather than hook-ups and the initial looks of this service sounds promising.
The advantage of Facebook Dating that makes it have the upper hand among other apps such as Tinder is that users already have a Facebook account. They just need to head to the feature from within their Facebook app and set up their dating profile.
To use this service, your name and your age will be transferred from your Facebook account to your dating profile. You can add up to 1 photo to your profile on the Android application and up to 9 photos on the iOS app. You will also need to write a short bio and answer a few questions.
How to use Facebook Dating app?
On Tinder dating app, what you need to do is to swipe right or left to express if you are interested on someone or not. On Facebook dating, the swiping is replaced with a simple tap. If you are interested in someone, you will then be prompted to answer questions on their profile and send them a message if you’d like.
The dating feature of Facebook allows you to message 100 people per day and you can communicate with them only through text and emoji. This means there is no exchange of nudity through photos and videos.
People who are already your friends on Facebook will not appear as your potential dates. Instead, you will see a combination of friends of friends and total strangers.
You can also search for people on 100 km of your vicinity and Facebook will display potentials based on mutual friends, events or pages liked.
Also, you can choose to date people who attend the same events or who are a part of the same Facebook groups. But to do that, you will need to unlock each group and event.
Facebook dating app launch date
Facebook first announced its dating app in May 1 on its annual F8 developer conference.
Now, Facebook is internally testing its dating feature among its employees who have opted-in. But of course, it is not for dating coworkers. It is in fact for finding bugs and testing the UI.
This is while Facebook has not announced a date for launching its dating app but it is expected to be available soon.
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