Getting creepy messages from randos on Facebook is old hat at this point—thank god for the site’s automatic filtering feature that mostly saves you the trouble of manual deletion—but what are the chances of actually finding love on there? Well, it just got a whole lot bigger since Facebook is launching its own dating app. Here’s what you need to know about it.
- It’s only available in Canada and Thailand so far. According to a Facebook press release, these two countries are the only ones with access to the app at this stage, though one assumes there are plans for a wider release in the future. The app has previously been available in Colombia, as well, so it’s clear execs are trying to gauge how it’ll perform in different markets.
- You’ll have to create a new profile. Like any dating app, you’ll have to make a dating profile to tell potential dates about who you are, what you’re into, etc. While your normal Facebook profile might suffice, the site’s dating app requires you to create a whole new one targeted towards finding romantic matches, according to PEOPLE.
- Don’t worry, people on your regular Facebook account won’t be able to see what you’re up to. It’s understandable to be worried that your activity on Facebook’s dating app might cross over and post to your normal Facebook feed without you knowing, but that’s not going to happen. Whew.
- Facebook dating only won’t match you with anyone you’re friends with. You don’t have to worry about being hooked up with someone you, well, already hooked up with. Facebook Dating only matches you with people based on your shared interests, preferences, and what you get up to on Facebook (Candy Crush boyfriend, anyone?) so you’re safe in that regard.
- You can give people second chances. The one thing that sucks about Tinder is that once you swipe left on someone, that’s it, they’re gone. What if they were “The One”? Thankfully, Facebook Dating offers a feature called “Second Look” in which you can re-review the people you previously rejected.
- You can also stop receiving matches at any time. If you’d like to pause the matching process to pursue one that’s going particularly well or because you’re just taking a bit of a dating hiatus, Facebook Dating will allow you to do it. Pretty convenient!
- All in all, Facebook Dating is about helping people connect. At least according to the site’s technical program manager Charmaine Hung, who explains, “We’ve seen on Facebook that people have been using it to connect with friends and make new ones. And we started seeing actually that people were using it to form meaningful romantic relationships, which is really cool,” she said. “And we’ve seen that over 200 million people listed themselves as single on their Facebook relationship status and we so thought that this would be a great opportunity for us to help people.” (Or, you know, to make even more money, but let’s go with it.)
