Facebook Dating Just Launched — But There's A Catch

The moment many people have been waiting for is here: Facebook Dating has launched … in Colombia, at least. Back in May, it was announced that Facebook would be starting a dating platform within its social media platform. But, just because it’s affiliated with Facebook does not mean it uses your current profile as your dating one. In fact, it’s the complete opposite — users will have separate profiles just for Facebook Dating, which makes sense when you think about it. After all, you probably market yourself differently on your dating profiles versus the way you market yourself on Facebook to friends and family.

If you’re wondering why Facebook would launch dating profiles, it seems to be a natural extension of the insanely popular social media platform. According to Nathan Sharp, product manager for Facebook Dating, more than 200 million people have listed themselves as single in their relationship status on Facebook.

“The goal of the team is to make Facebook simply the best place to start a relationship online,” Sharp told TechCrunch. “We wanted to make a product that encouraged people to remember that there are people behind the profiles and the cards that they’re seeing … We want you to consider more than that person’s profile photo.”

How It Works

Facebook Dating is for Facebook users who are 18+, according to TechCrunch, and is currently for mobile-only. If you’re wondering how Facebook Dating works, here are some of its key features.

1. You’ll have a separate profile for dating, so don’t worry about just anyone seeing your profile. Although there’s really no shame in it, you may not be ready to tell your friends and family that you’re Facebook Dating. Your Facebook Dating profile will be its own entity and *not* appear in the regular Facebook News Feed.

2. Next, fill out your profile. When it comes to your profile, only your first name and age will be used. You can also choose what to share about yourself, such as height, religion, job title, etc. You can also answer questions about your personality, such as “What does your perfect day look like?” You can share up to nine photos or responses to Dating Questions on iOS and up to 12 for Android. These will likely make for great conversation-starters. As for matches, you can choose a radius of up to 100 kilometers away, and also filter matches by things such as distance, age, height, religion, and if they have kids.

3. There’s no swiping. Instead, once you create your profile, Facebook Dating uses an algorithm to suggest matches to you. So, really, Facebook does all the work for you, and then all you have to do is see which people you want to connect with. Unlike many dating apps, you do not have to wait for someone to like you back in order to message them. Instead, your message goes to their “Interested” tab, and if and when they write you back, the messages go into the “Conversations” tab. With Facebook Dating, when you tap “Interested” on someone’s dating profile, you then respond to something on it to begin a conversation. Then the person will see that you replied in the “Interested” area. If they write you back, the conversation can move forward.

4. You’ll have a separate messaging inbox for Facebook Dating. Yep, you don’t have to worry about having to separate messages from potential dates from your regular Facebook messages. Phew!

5. You’ll know someone’s real age and location according to TechCrunch. This is a big win, of course — goodbye, catfishing.

6. With Facebook Dating, you’ll match with people based on common interests. When you see your suggested matches, they’ll be based on your preferences, interests, and things you do on Facebook. So, it’ll almost be like having your very own Facebook matchmaker.

7. You get to decide who sees your Facebook Dating profile, so don’t worry about it intersecting with your regular one. Inside the dating feature, only your suggested matches — as well as those to whom you are suggested — can see your dating profile. So, this means that your current Facebook friends and people you’ve blocked on Facebook won’t be suggested to you.

8. You can choose to opt-in to Events and Groups to see others who have opted-in. This way, you’ll increase your Facebook dating pool — you’ll be able to see their profiles and vice-versa.

9. You’ll have privacy controls. For instance, you can report or block someone if you’re uncomfortable. You can also include — or hide — friends of friends in your pool of suggested matches. However, IRL, it’s great to meet potential dates through friends of friends, so you may want to at least try it out through Facebook Dating.

All in all, if Facebook Dating takes off in Colombia, it’ll likely take off in more countries, too. Stay tuned.