First launched in the US in Sep 2018, Facebook’s dating service ‘Facebook Dating’, is now set to roll-out in 32 European countries after running into some delays. The dating service is currently available in 20 countries.
Facebook Dating is an opt-in dating service, with a dedicated working space within the main Facebook app. It lets users create a profile by using their age and their first name, which they had already provided to Facebook while creating a profile. Then it lets them choose whether to add any additional personal information to it, to stand out and to get better matches.
The feature is actually very useful, and eliminates the need of having multiple apps on your phone for using social media and dating. However, if you feel like it’s not the right fit for you after testing it out, you can delete your dating profile whenever you want.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) had raised concerns about the service in February, which initially led to the roll-out being delayed. The Data Protection Commission is an independent regulatory authority which is “responsible for upholding the fundamental right of individuals in the EU to have their personal data protected.”
The authority had said that it was notified on 3rd Feb, on a very short notice about Facebook Dating’s plan to launch on 13th Feb. There was also a lack of documentation on data protection impact assessments or Facebook’s decision-making process, the authority said.
One of the first questions that might come to mind when thinking of creating a profile on Facebook Dating is whether your friends will be able to see your activity on your profile. Fortunately, the company says that your activity is hidden from your profile and your friends will not know what you’ve been up to.
It also comes with a clever feature that lets you add your Facebook friends to a Secret crush list. If your crush also adds you to their list, it’ll count as a match. And, as the name suggests, it’s a secret list, which means your crush will remain oblivious of the fact that they are on your list, until they add you to theirs.
The company said that it is soon going to roll-out a virtual dating feature, which will allow the dating service users to video call their matches. It will allow the users to peacefully go on virtual dates, without the lingering fear of getting infected which comes with going outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
