Facebook is launching a dating service that is aimed towards long-term relationships and not just hookups. Mark Zuckerberg announced that the dating feature will help the 200 million users currently having their relationship status as single to find partners.
“If we’re focused on helping people build meaningful relationships, then this is perhaps the most meaningful of all,” Zuckerberg said. “This is going to be for building real long-term relationships not just for hookups.” The dating feature will allow users to build a separate dating profile that will not be shared with their current network of friends.
The profile will only be visible to other people using the dating service. The matches will be made based on dating preferences, commonalities, and mutual acquaintances. There will also be a messaging section to open a line of communication but won’t be connected to WhatsApp or Messenger.
Facebook announced it's getting into the dating space.
Match Group investors are freaking out. pic.twitter.com/1tXdPWRZYS
— Kurt Wagner (@KurtWagner8) May 1, 2018
“I think the reaction is a combination of the Facebook news along with concerns that Match was getting toppy,” or expensive, said analyst Daniel Kurnos in an interview with Reuters. “I can’t see Facebook supplanting Match any time soon – too big a moat.”
Due to the recent scandal, people are worried about privacy but the CEO personally told the crowd at the press conference that they built the whole system from the ground up while keeping security in mind. “Security isn’t a problem than you ever fully solve,” Zuckerberg said. “This is an arms race; we are going to be working to stay ahead of our adversaries forever.”
We will have to wait for the service to be officially launched to see how well it fares.