Facebook Dating lands in Europe as singles look for romance under lockdown

Facebook announced Thursday that it has expanded its dating service to Europe, a little over a year after it launched in the U.S.

The platform, known simply as “Facebook Dating,” is designed to help Facebook users find partners through things they have in common such as interests, events and groups. Those wanting to opt-in to the service, which has a dedicated space in the Facebook app, must set up a Facebook Dating profile.

Once registered, Facebook users can share personal “Stories” on their dating profile, as well as Stories from their main Facebook or Instagram account.

There’s also a “Secret Crush” feature that enables users to select up nine Facebook friends or Instagram followers that they’re interested in. If one of those people also selects you as their crush then a match is generated.

social media love GIF by Sean McSorley — **Meanwhile Be Addicted to Humans not Devices**

Unlike other dating services such as Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble, the Facebook Dating feature is completely free to use, with no premium offering.

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Facebook said it is in the process of rolling out a feature that will allow singles who have matched on Facebook Dating to have video chats.

First announced at Facebook’s F8 developer conference in May 2018, the dating feature launched in the U.S. in September 2019, immediately sending shares in Match, which owns dating app Tinder, down 4.5%. The service is now available in 52 countries worldwide including 32 in Europe.

Facebook claims that the platform has generated 1.5 billion matches across 20 countries since it launched.