Facebook has launched a Dating Service

In a move to attract users from dating apps, Facebook launched features within its app which connect users to people who are not their friends to help them meet new people and start their relationships.

Speaking at Facebook’s F8 conference in San Jose, California, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said:
building real long-term relationships, not just hook-ups,” Zuckerberg said as he unveiled the plan in a speech at Facebook’s annual developers conference.

Users who are single and interested in dating can set up a dating profile within their existing Facebook account. It won’t be visible to friends or family, or show up in News Feed, and will only appear for other people using the dating service.

The way Facebook will connect people is by asking users to “unlock” groups or events on Facebook, which will allow users to see other “daters” who unlocked the same event or group.

The idea, of course, being that you’ll have something in common with the people you can suddenly match with. Messages sent between users will open in a new messaging section, not WhatsApp or Messenger.

“If we are focused on helping people build meaningful relationships then perhaps this is the most meaningful of all… so we are launching a whole set of new features around dating.”