Facebook announced on Nov. 8 that it was adding two more countries, Canada and Thailand, to its online-dating service after its September launch in Colombia, Business Insider reports. Originally announced at the annual F8 conference in May of this year, the dating service is targeted for people who are seeking more meaningful, long-term relationships as compared to hookups.
Currently only available on mobile, one of the benefits of the service is that it does not require an additional app on your device. To make a profile (which is separate from your usual Facebook profile), users will need to manually enter all of the required information and personal specifics, such as your location, gender, height, religion and whether you have children; only your age and first name will be automatically entered.
Up to nine photos or a series of ice-breaker questions provided by Facebook are also included on your profile. An example of one of these questions is, "What does the perfect day look like?" There are only 20 options and no choice, for now, to write your own.
Like all other dating sites, once you've made your profile, Facebook will use its own, unique algorithm to match you with potential dates. No one you're already friends with on Facebook will be shown, nor will anyone you've blocked. Potential matches will also be restricted to within 100 kilometers (when the site is launched in the U.S., there will be a separate equivalent in miles).
“We’re trying to connect people that are open to getting to know each other in the future,” Nathan Sharp, a product manager at Facebook, told Wired. “It’s all about opting-in and making sure that people are really intentional.”
To sort through potential matches, as Tech Crunch notes, users will need to tap "Not Interested," rather than swiping through the options, as with Tinder. In addition, users cannot send a generic message to connect, but rather must respond directly to one of a potential date's photos or questions, a system reminiscent of the dating app Hinge. All of these messages will be located in a separate inbox specifically for the service rather than in Facebook Messenger. You also will not be able to send links, photos or payments for security reasons.
One of the major features of Facebook Dating is the ability to match with people who attend the same events or are part of the same Facebook groups. This is not a default option, however. To engage with this feature, users will have to "unlock" each event or group manually. On the upside, there are no restrictions on events or groups, whether it be a Taylor Swift concert or your college meme group.
Along with announcing the service's launch in Canada and Thailand, Facebook also introduced two new features. The first, known as Second Look, is reminiscent of Tinder's paid user option that allows you to undo a mistaken left swipe. In Facebook's service, users can re-review someone they already said they weren't interested in if they have second thoughts. The second feature allows users to pause their profile. This means that users can take a break from the service, say if they are in an exclusive relationship, but can re-start with their saved previous information if they want to jump back into dating.
It is currently unknown when Facebook Dating will reach the U.S., but with all the other dating apps flooding the app store, it's unclear how much we're missing out on. Who's ready to try yet another dating app where you can practice that perfect open liner?
