Yesterday at Facebook’s F8 developers conference in California, USA, the company announced it is adding a dating layer to its main mobile app.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the features are a long time coming for the 14-year-old social network, which has allowed users to broadcast whether they’re single or in a relationship since it first went live in February 2004.
This move will put Facebook in direct competition with Match Group, which owns and operates mobile dating app Tinder and popular dating platform OkCupid. Coincidentally, Match Group’s stock plummeted by more than 17 percent as soon as the news was announced.
“This is going to be for building real, long-term relationships — not just for hookups,” Zuckerberg joked onstage. He added that it’s going to be within the main Facebook app, but it will be completely optional and opt-in only. “We have designed this with privacy and safety in mind from the beginning. Your friends aren’t going to see your profile, and you’re only going to be suggested to people who are not your friends.”
Facebook product chief Chris Cox revealed the profiles look similar to other mobile-focused dating apps like Tinder and Bumble, with full-page profile photos. But Facebook’s take on dating is more community-focused, with integrations for the events and groups you’re a part of on the platform.
Cox also mentioned a feature called “unlocking,” which will let any user of Facebook’s dating platform make his or her profile visible to other attendees of events or members of groups. From there, messaging takes place in distinct chat threads separate from Facebook Messenger. Cox says Facebook will announce more information, including a release date and rollout info for the dating features, later this year following a testing phase.
