Hoping to change the status of the roughly 200 million singles who use it, Facebook has officially launched their dating service in Colombia, with other test markets likely to launch soon:
So if you want to find out how the dating service works, you have to check it out in Colombia just like we did.
Opting in is easy
Once Facebook Dating is available in your area, you'll be able to do it simply by responding to the notification in your News Feed:
Or you can also opt in by tapping the heart icon on your profile:
This will bring up your online dating house. From there, you can set up a private dating profile so it will be hidden from your Facebook friends.
Who can see your Facebook dating profile?
Only those who have opted dating service can view your dating profile, so it will not show on the News Feed.
Your existing Facebook friends won't be able to see your dating profile, nor will Facebook suggest your friends as a possible match.
But you can choose whether you want to suggest your friends' friends as a match by turning it on or off in the privacy settings:
As an added security feature, Facebook also disables screenshots via the registration page.
When someone checks your dating profile, they'll see the basics: your name, age, current city, and photo.
If you choose to share it, your work, education, and a few other biographical tidbits will also be displayed.
How to set up your Facebook dating profile
Creating your Facebook dating profile is simple, just follow these steps:
1: Choose your gender:
2: Select the gender you want to be associated with:
3: Confirm your dating location:
4: Choose a photo for your dating profile:
5: Crop as needed:
6: Review and confirm your profile:
Tap the “confirm” button at the bottom of the screen and your Facebook dating profile is active.
Any changes you make to your dating profile will not affect your regular Facebook profile and vice versa. That means if you delete a photo from somewhere else on Facebook, it will remain on your dating profile.
And if you delete a photo from your dating profile, it will remain wherever else you shared it.
The same is true if you delete your entire Facebook dating profile, which you can do from the Dating Settings screen. Anything you share elsewhere will not be affected.
Next, you'll need to specify your match criteria in the Dating Settings:
So where do couples come from?
Since this is a recent (and limited) launch, when you finish setting up your Facebook dating profile, you'll likely see a message like this:
Facebook is probably waiting to see how many users will sign up in each region before it starts recommending pairs. After all, the only thing worse than an empty bar is a dating site with no one on it, right?
But once it fully works in your area, here's how you'll use it to get dates.
First, just go to your Facebook Dating like any other Facebook activity:
From there, you'll be introduced to events in your area, as well as groups that Facebook thinks might interest you:
Unlocking on an event or joining a group will make your dating profile visible to any group members or event attendees that match your interests:
Facebook's matching algorithm considers your dating interests, locations, common interests, and mutual friends when choosing a match.
When you tap See suggested matches, you can view their full dating profiles and see any mutual friends you may have in common:
When someone catches your eye, tap the “Interest” icon at the bottom right of the screen:
That will bring up a text box, so you can compose your message:
Message exchanges will be limited to text - no links or images allowed. Users are limited to sending only one initial message, and the message will be separate from any Messenger or WhatsApp conversations.
If the person replies, the conversation will show up in the Conversations section:
You can navigate between your dating profile, check out people interested in you, and your active conversations by tapping the icons at the top of the screen:
When will Facebook's dating service launch worldwide?
The dating service has launched in Colombia so far, and other test markets are likely to be added soon.
Currently, Facebook users aren't charged for the dating service, but that could change as it rolls out to a larger scale.
Facebook executives say they've been thinking about the idea for years and started building the service in late 2017. They admit people have been using Facebook as a way to meet new people, because so can support that in that safe way, naturally.
What industry experts are saying about Facebook's dating service
There's no denying that the launch is generating a lot of buzz, but the reactions have been mixed.
Some worry it will open up a whole new niche for catfish scammers and romance scammers, as the new dating service could be especially popular with familiar over-40s. with Facebook, but it may be uncomfortable to use traditional dating sites and apps like Match. com or Tinder.
Kevin Lee, a former Facebook spam manager turned trust and safety architect of a fraud detection company, told the Washington Post that the new dating service has the potential to expose users to fraud. financial scams and romantic scams.
According to the FBI, romance scams are on the rise — nearly 15,000 cases were reported in 2016, up 2,500 from the previous year. And those are just the reported cases, costing victims more than $230 million.
According to Lee's research, the majority of victims of romance scams are women - often older women, in a situation more vulnerable to the end of a marriage or other stressful situations. in life.
Other experts are wondering how Facebook intends to keep users' data private, given the recent concerns Zuckerberg testified before Congress.
As Justin Brookman of the advocacy group Consumer Alliance told the Washington Post:
Facebook already knows a lot about you that you tell it and it collects a lot of information about you beyond that. Now here's another whole bucket of really sensitive stuff. What will the Facebook police be like? Will they put resources in safe? Or will their thirst for participation magnify these other concerns?
Felicia Cravens, who helps track down fake Facebook accounts through a Facebook page called Imperfection, has admitted that online dating is a space that can take over pretty quickly — but should they? As she pointed out to the Washington Post:
People are now scamming people on Facebook platforms from Nigeria, Macedonia, Philippines and everywhere else.
Aside from privacy and fraud issues, there's also the question of who you're really with. By definition, you have a shared interest in the people in your Facebook group, but does that automatically mean you want to date them?
Chelsea Reynolds, an assistant professor at CSU Fullerton who studies online dating, told MarketWatch that those who match results in the same professional group may not want to date in those circles. .
For example, I use my Facebook profile to build professional visibility. I belong to a group dedicated to professors, media practitioners, and LGBTQ activists. Am I passionate about those communities? Sure. Am I trying to date within my professional circle? No way."
Attraction between matches is one thing - all the data you provide on your romantic likes and dislikes is going to be how compelling?
As Mike Herrick of Urban Airship, a market analysis firm, pointed out to the Washington Post, this app will not only learn the identity of your current love interests, but also learn about other people you are. care, what interests you like and how positive are you looking for a significant other.
Of course all these concerns remain at the speculative level. We'll have to wait and see what happens when the Facebook Dating Service is launched on a broader scale.
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