Right from school students to divorced people, the social networking platform Facebook has always been a place for them to explore many things, including their romantic interests.
Last year, Facebook rolled out its official dating service – Facebook Dating in the US and 19 other markets with a matchmaking algorithm, specialised profiles, and more.
As a part of its expansion process, Facebook Dating launches in Europe after a delay of nine months due to data protection concerns from local regulators in Ireland.
Provided detailed clarification
According to Bloomberg, Graham Doyle, deputy commissioner at the Irish watchdog, said that Facebook had provided detailed clarifications on the processing of personal data in the context of the dating feature.
“We will continue to monitor the product as it launches across the EU this week,” he added. Notably, the dating service was supposed to launch on Valentine’s Day, which is February 14, 2020.
Facebook Dating
Facebook Dating is a dedicated, opt-in space within the Facebook app, and users can create a Facebook Dating profile in just a few taps. People are suggested based on the users’ preferences, interests, and activities on Facebook.
If interested, users can comment directly on their profile or tap on the ‘Like’ button to let them know. Further, Facebook Dating allows users to match with friends of friends or other people, outside of your friend circle.
What happens in FB Dating, stays in FB Dating
As per the company claims, users’ dating activity will stay on Facebook Dating and won’t be shared with the rest of Facebook. The dating service will offer various features – Stories, Secret Crush, Events and Groups, Virtual Dates, and more.
Kate Orseth, Product Manager of Facebook Dating, says: “We worked with experts in these areas to provide easy access to safety tips and build protections into Facebook Dating, including the ability to report and block anyone, as well as stopping people from sending photos, links, payments or videos in messages.”
It’s worth mentioning here that the feature won’t suggest current Facebook friends as potential matches or notify people when a user has joined Dating. For example, users’ Dating profile, Dating messages, and other activities within Dating won’t appear on Facebook News Feed.”
European availability
Right now, the Facebook Dating service is rolling out to Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
General availability
Facebook Dating is also currently available in 20 other countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Suriname, Thailand, the United States, Uruguay, and Vietnam.
Main image credits: Chinnapong/Shutterstock
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