Facebook Dating Review – Register On Free Online Dating Sites: Give any social network enough time, and it will evolve into a dating app. When people have a platform to connect with others, they can’t help but express their true feelings. There are a plethora of dating apps available, but who among us hasn’t been thirsty enough to slip into a DM on LinkedIn, Snapchat, Twitter, or, yes, Facebook? Facebook Dating seeks to bridge the gap. It’s ostensibly a dating app, but it makes full use of the networking features provided by its social media parent company. It’s also completely secure. However, if you want to find love without the fear of being watched by Zuckerberg, we suggest paying for one of our Editors’ Choice choices, Match or Tinder.
Getting Started With Facebook Dating
Many dating apps allow you to sign up for an account using your Facebook account. Facebook Dating is now a part of Facebook. You don’t get it as a stand-alone app. Instead, it is a feature of the current Facebook Android and iOS mobile apps that you must opt in to use. I ran the test on an iPhone 11. There is currently no laptop edition.
Converting your Facebook profile into a dating profile instantly raises privacy concerns. The European Union compelled Facebook to postpone the service’s launch so that regulators could examine security measures. Who can blame them, given Facebook’s track record of privacy blunders, from the Cambridge Analytica fiasco to settling litigation with civil rights organizations over microtargeted ads?
Facebook, on the other hand, says that your Facebook Dating data is kept apart from the rest of Facebook. I braced myself for the humiliation of running into a close friend looking for love, or of inadvertently disclosing my (test) relationship status to relatives. Fortunately, every profile I came across was a complete stranger. Awkwardness should be avoided.
Furthermore, Facebook Dating does not require your data; it only requires your body. Dating apps must provide a wide and vibrant group of singles and love seekers in order to thrive. Facebook already has an unfathomable number of users, which Facebook Dating wishes to capitalize on. If even a small portion of the Facebook audience converts, Facebook Dating will never run out of potential matches.
Since Facebook Dating is already a Facebook app, it’s simple to create a profile using your existing Facebook details and Instagram images. The app might already be aware of basic information about you, such as where you live, where you went to school, and where you work. You can change the answers after they’ve been submitted. Don’t be concerned about it changing your daily Facebook stuff. Even so, it’s convenient to be able to skip a few stages. The disadvantage is that, unlike other dating apps, it is almost impossible to remain anonymous on this one. Your name is derived from your Facebook profile and cannot be updated solely for dating purposes. That may be inconvenient for some and dangerous for others.
Facebook Dating may already know which genders you prefer, whether men, women or anyone. However, when you create your profile, you can specify more specific preferences such as age range, whether you want children or not, distance, education level, height, language spoken, and religion. The only other dating-specific data to enter are responses to personality questions like “The best thing I can cook is…” or “The song that always gets me on the dance floor is…”
Interface and Profiles
The interface of Facebook Dating is similar to that of Facebook. It is, once again, just one component of the same Facebook mobile app. Tap the heart-shaped button on the overflow menu at the bottom-right corner of the screen to access the Facebook Dating portion, which also takes you to other sections of Facebook inside the app. All blends together so much, and it’s just too convenient to end up on your newsfeed when you thought you were swiping on promising dates.
Aside from the larger Facebook interface problems, using Facebook Dating feels almost like using any other high-quality modern dating app. The screen is dominated by profile images, and you can say yes or no Tinder-style by pressing the big X or the big heart. You can return to profiles you’ve previously rejected using Second Look.
Tap on a profile to see a more detailed portrait of your love interest. The level of detail can make you think of Match. Scroll down to see additional photos, a rundown of their profile, answers to personality questions, and even a pick from their Instagram feed. Then you’ll be able to make a more educated decision about whether to swipe left or right. There is no swiping, just button pressing, but the idiom is what it is.
On the home screen, you can swipe through an interactive feed of Facebook Stories for a new browsing experience. Tap them to display curated sets of future matches’ images and videos.
You can start sending messages to each other once you’ve found a match. The messaging feature of Facebook Dating is intentionally more restricted than that of daily Messenger. You are not permitted to submit links, money, pictures, or videos. This is for security, and it makes Facebook Dating feel like it’s protected from the nastier internet at large. Furthermore, text and GIFs are all that is needed for cute communication. The one justified exception is that you can use Messenger to notify a protective friend about your upcoming date.
Extra Features
Some dating applications, such as eharmony, are pricey and not worth it for free users. Others, such as OkCupid, are completely fine if you do not spend money, even if you are given the choice. If you consider your personal data to be a currency, however, Facebook Dating is absolutely secure.
Fortunately, Facebook Dating does not use a lack of functionality to excuse a lack of a price tag. Aside from the extensive profiles, the app provides additional search options that only Facebook can provide. Look for people who are in the same Facebook groups as you or who have attended the same Facebook events as you. To be sure, this poses the greatest chance of running into people you already meet. I didn’t run into any relatives, but I did run into some dangerously close friends of friends. Nonetheless, this is an excellent way to interact with someone with whom you already share interests.
Besides, you may want to date your colleagues. Perhaps you’ve just been looking for the right reason. That’s what Facebook Dating’s Secret Crush function is about. You can mark nine Facebook friends or Instagram followers as romantically involved in this section. Nobody will know you did it. If your unrequited love enters Facebook Dating and adds you as their Secret Crush, you’ll both be informed, and you can start talking about how awesome it is to finally express your true feelings openly. If you’re feeling particularly daring, you can use the app to inform your friends about Facebook Dating and hope they bite.
Social Distancing With Facebook Dating
As the world continues to seek refuge in order to fight the COVID-19 epidemic, virtual dating features on dating apps have become increasingly relevant. Facebook Dating does not have any virtual dating functionality in the traditional sense. There is no way to video chat directly in the app, and your matches are limited to those nearby, despite the fact that you can extend that distance to an incredibly generous 240 miles. Other dating apps pair people who live far apart as quarantine pen-pals.
However, someone you meet on Facebook Dating is, by definition, also on Facebook. If all is going well, you and your match can easily extend your communication options by manually switching over to Messenger, which does provide video chat if you both want it. Facebook also introduced a new experimental app named Tuned designed especially for quarantined couples.
Some dating apps have virtual dating functionality inside the app. Video chat is available on Bumble, eharmony, Match, and Plenty of Fish. Hinge users must use a different service for video calls, however, they may show a shared interest in seeing each other in person.
Like Me
The importance of a dating app is arguably determined by subjective social factors rather than technological factors. We have few complaints about Facebook Dating as a piece of software. It provides rich profiles and premium browsing for free by leveraging other Facebook features.
Facebook culture, on the other hand, has a reputation for everything from objectifying college students to spreading racist conspiracy memes. So, even though your own feed is flawlessly curated, we can’t blame you if your reaction to dating on a site like that is distinctly negative. Aside from privacy issues, it’s sometimes just easier for peace of mind to not have all aspects of your online life revolve around the same thing. Even if you believe Facebook Dating when it says your data isn’t shared (and that’s a major if), the whole thing sounds a little shady.
Keep using Facebook if you want to digitally hang out with friends and family on the most popular social network; it’s a useful service. If you’re looking for something a little more personal, we still suggest our Editors’ Choice dating apps, Match or Tinder.
The Bottom Line
If you can get past the idea of sharing even more of your life (and data) with Facebook, Facebook Dating is a solid option that makes good use of Facebook’s massive ecosystem.