Credit: https://twitter.com/wongmjane/status/1025475130569371648
It looks like we are approaching a rollout of Facebook Dating as report suggests that the social media behemoth has started testing the service internally with its employee. Reliable app researcher who has inside scoop when it comes to Facebook stories Jane Manchun Wong has spotted the app. According to Wong, employees of the social media behemoth has started testing the app, which could see Facebook take on Tinder.
A screenshot of the app reads that the test is for employees who have opted-in:
“This product is for US Facebook employees who have opted-in to dogfooding Facebook’s new dating product. The purpose for this dogfooding is to test the end-to-end product experience for bugs and confusing UI. This is not meant for dating your coworkers.”
All data used by employees during the test will be deleted by Facebook before the global roll out. That said, the social media giant has asked its employees to consider using fake data when adding their dating profiles. “Dogfooding this product is completely voluntary and has no impact on your employment.”
For now it is just a test, and there is nothing to suggest that the app will make it to a global launch anytime soon. However, should Facebook Dating makes it to a global launch, then Tinder and the likes could have a big competitor to deal with.
When launched, people will be able to opt in to create a dating profile on Facebook. The new dating feature, however, won’t be visible to everyone, but will only be seen by non-friends who have opted into dating.
Matchmaking will be done by a bunch of preferences—and you can trust Facebook when it comes to matching you with your preference, especially with the incredible amount of data it has. The test has not kicked off yet, but expect that to happen before the end of the year.
“Potential matches will be recommended based on dating preferences, things in common, and mutual friends. They’ll have the option to discover others with similar interests through their Groups or Events, Facebook said a couple of months ago per TechCrunch.
Facebook Dating will likely take the following shapes:
- Opt in to a create a profile with just your first name. Your profile won’t be visible to friends, users who aren’t on the dating feature, and it won’t show up in the News Feed.
- You’ll browse Events in your city and Groups that match your interests. You can select to ‘unlock’ one for dating. You’ll then see the profiles of other dating users who’ve unlocked that surface.
- You can browse through people’s profiles that show off a few of their photos plus some basic information about them. You’ll be shown people based on mutual interests and friends, plus other data Facebook has on you.
- If you both are interested, you’ll be able to start a conversation with someone in a special inbox that’s separate from Messenger and WhatsApp. For safety, only text can be sent for now.
