Secret Crush: Facebook, Instagram take on Tinder with new dating app
Facebook on Thursday rolled out a dating services in the United States. The social network said users will be able to integrate their Instagram account with Facebook dating profile and add Instagram followers to their Secret Crush lists.
The feature will allows users to explore potential romantic relationships within their friend circle.
The new product, which is available to users aged 18 and above, will appear as a new tab within the Facebook mobile app.
To use the service, one is required to create a profile that is separate from their main profile.
The service will present those looking for love with potential matches based on one’s location, indicated preferences, and other factors.
One can also choose to match with people who attend the same Facebook events with them or are part of the same Facebook groups
One will not be able to see their Facebook friends in the app unless they use its “secret crush” feature, which allows a user to express interest in a maximum of nine Facebook friends (or Instagram followers).
IN-APP PURCHASES
The app is free and contains no advertisements or in-app purchases.
“We didn’t want to include anything around swiping or games. Facebook Dating is about conversations,” said Facebook product lead Nathan Sharp.
Users may share their “stories” posts from the network, which are short video segments. This will help the service be “authentic in a way that a typical dating profile can’t”, according to Sharp.
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, in announcing the plan last year, said it was being designed for “real, long-term relationships, not just hookups.”
He pointed out that one in three marriages in the United States starts online and that some 200 million Facebook users identify as being single.
With the US launch, Facebook Dating is now available in 20 countries including Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Guyana, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, and Paraguay.
Others are Peru, Philippines, Singapore, Suriname, Thailand, Uruguay, and Vietnam.
Facebook said the product will roll out in Europe early next year.