- Facebook Dating makes its debut in Europe
- Dating app features Secret Crush, Virtual Dates, and Stories
- It will compete against Tinder, Bumble, Badoo, Hinge, etc.
Facebook is on the move to take over the online dating market. With the launch of its dating service, Facebook Dating will offer strong competition to its competitors like Tinder, Bumble, Badoo, and Hinge. Its launch has been delayed for a long time now, as it was originally planned to debut on Valentine’s Day. The nine-month-long delay was caused due to data security and privacy concerns. Its Cambridge Analytica scandal may still act as a potential barrier. The scandal revolved around the London-based political consulting firm, which acquired and exploited 87 million Facebook users’ personal data without authentication.
The launch of Facebook Dating in Europe comes a year after it launched its services in the United States. Here it will offer the same feature to the users as in the US. The app uses the existing profile of the user and looks for potential matches. These matches are in relevance to their preferences, Facebook activity, and even their groups and events if they wish so. Facebook’s move to enter Europe’s crowded market, dominated by a few companies, will be challenging. Its main competitor, Match Group, which owns Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, PlentyOfFish, and Match.com, among others.
The service that appears only in its mobile app under a tab is deeply integrated with Facebook’s other services as well. But Facebook said, “We won’t suggest current Facebook friends as potential matches or notify them that you’ve joined Dating.” It also claims that around 1.5 billion matches have been made since its launch.
App Features
- the ability to share stories on your profile: here, you can post moments of your everyday life and share your interests;
- a Secret Crush feature: it lets you explore potential relationships with people you already know on FB or IG. Nine of your friends or followers who you’re interested in dating can be added. They will not know about it unless they add you as well. If they do, it triggers a match notification;
- the ability to see people with similar interest: this feature works only when you have added your FB Events and Groups to the Dating profile;
- a video chat feature called Virtual Dates: you can initiate a video chat with your match by tapping the video icon within the chat. It sends an invitation to join the call and helps you get to know each other better.
Facebook has focused heavily on its privacy features and kept many of its personal matching tactics optional. It had undergone the Data Processing Impact Assessment (DPIA) review under the EU’s GDPR protections. With these clearances, Facebook has launched Dating in over 50 countries.