Facebook understands that the best relationships always begin with friendships. A new method is being developed to aid in the ignition of these forms of romances.
The social network announced on Tuesday that it is launching a new Facebook Dating feature that allows users to select up to nine (9) Facebook friends with whom they are romantically involved (in some countries, for now). If your friends use Facebook Dating and add your name to their “Hidden Crush” list, they’ll find out you have a crush on them. You and your friend will be notified that this is a match until this happens.
The company’s executives announced on Tuesday at the Facebook F8 developer conference in San Jose, California.
Taking advantage of dating apps like Tinder and Bumble, Facebook first revealed last year’s F8 conference that it was working on a dating feature for its key social network app. The change will allow Facebook to profit from ad dollars while also increasing the number of time users spend on the app.
Read: Dating And The Impact Of Social Media
In September, Facebook Dating was launched in Colombia for the first time, followed by Thailand, Canada, Argentina, and Mexico. The Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guyana, and Suriname are among the 14 new countries added to Facebook’s dating service on Tuesday. By the end of the year, Facebook plans to launch its dating service in the United States.
Users who opt-out of the service will create a separate dating profile, and show suggested people based on their interests, preferences, and Facebook activities. Unlike other dating apps, there is no swiping left or right to express your interest. Instead, tap “interested” or “pass” on the dating profiles you receive.
Facebook’s dating app is intended to help people find relationships rather than just interactions. Some users have already engaged in or entered into official relationships through a dating site, according to Fidji Simo, the Facebook app’s head. A diverse community of people, including gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual people, have created dating profiles at the company.
The United States, Simo said, is a “highly competitive market” for dating apps.
“We want to make sure that the product does respond to all the needs people have before it rolls out to the US,” she said. “It’s coming, but not right away.”
Checkout: Facebook Dating – Privacy Matters
Finding new friends
Facebook doesn’t just want to help you find love: it’s also trying to make finding new friends easier.
The social network is testing a new feature called “Meet New Friends” that makes recommendations for new friends based on where you live, work, what college you attended, or groups you joined.
The Bumble Dating app also has a version for meeting friends, but Facebook has an advantage because it already knows some of your interests because of the groups you’ve joined and what’s on your profile.
Facebook is currently testing a friend-finding feature in Vietnam and Colombia but said it would soon be rolled out to other countries.
Users who choose a friend feature by clicking on a link in their News Feed will be able to narrow down suggestions for friends by selecting certain interests. For example, by switching off that option, you can let the social network know that you’re not interested in making friends from work.
Facebook will ask you what you want to do with your friends. Activities include making coffee, exploring the city, and playing games. After you have filled out that information, Facebook will show you a list of potential friends and what groups and interests you have in common. You can then send a message to that person through their profile and meet them in real life.
The announcement comes on the same day that Facebook said it was rolling out a tab for events that included a map of the nearby events and recommendations for the top activities to be carried out in cities worldwide.