Facebook Dating App Review: Is It Overrated?
by John Santana
Online dating can be daunting to anyone, especially if you are unfamiliar with how dating sites/dating apps work. Facebook Dating was created and originally announced in 2018 but only launched in early September 2019. Facebook Dating is a great first step from the door of singlehood into the world of online dating and other dating apps.
Facebook Dating is one of the simpler dating apps available as you can use your already Facebook profile as your dating profile. The Facebook Dating app is currently totally free and without ads which are unheard of in any dating app.
How To Sign up For Facebook Dating
If you have already signed up to Facebook, as over a billion people have, the Facebook signup only needs a few clicks. Facebook dating uses the information on your current profile to recommend potential matches based on shared interests.
The groups and forums you are a part of on Facebook help Facebook Dating find people who have joined the same or similar groups to find like-minded people. You are unlikely to find people on FB dating who are listed as your Facebook friends or family. It is important to note that to access Facebook dating, you have to create a Facebook Dating profile, irrespective of whether you have a Facebook profile.
- Open the Facebook app and tap Menu (three lines) in the upper or lower-right corner. (Menu location varies by the mobile platform, maybe in the top right corner on older devices.)
- Tap Dating.
- Tap Get Started. Follow the prompts to set up your dating profile.
- After you share your location and choose a photo, your dating profile will be generated using information from your Facebook account.
Source: Wonder of Tech
Secret Crush
The creators of Facebook Dating are well aware that some users are likely to be looking for one or two of their friends and have designed a feature exactly for it. The secret crush feature on Facebook Dating allows you to add friends who you ‘like’ to your secret crush list.
If that friend adds you to their secret crush list, you will match as a secret match. Your secret crush list is limited to nine Facebook friends. You will have to choose carefully who your secret crush is.
Cost of Facebook Dating
One of the most surprising features of the Facebook Dating app is that it is totally free. Many other dating apps include many ads or special features locked behind paywalls but not Facebook Dating. Only time will tell if the ads or additional subscriptions will be added to ‘boost’ your dating profile like many other dating apps.
How Instagram Stories Help Your Facebook Dating Profile
Your Instagram account can help add character to your Facebook Dating profile. One of the crucial aspects of most dating apps is that users need to feel like they convey who they are in a short dating profile.
Similarly, that can be very frustrating when most dating sites only have a brief overview with a few videos, photos, and some question prompts that become boring and stale after a time. FB dating app allows you to add Instagram stories you were posting to also post them on your Facebook dating profile.
The amazing dating feature Instagram stories offer for Facebook Dating profiles lets you curate your profile to fit your aesthetic and add character to your dating profile. Facebook Dating has really shown that a large social network app developer can integrate many apps fluidly, enhancing each other.
It’s important to note that the number of followers you have on Instagram followers do not have an impact on who you match with.
How to Add Instagram Stories to Your Dating Profile
If you are familiar with adding Instagram stories to Facebook, adding them to your Facebook Dating profile will be easy. First, you need to take a photo or video and click the post feature on Instagram.
Source: TechCrunch
Then once you are happy with your photo after editing, you go to posting, and there is a link below posting where you can post the same photo or video to Facebook and Facebook Dating.
Source: TechCrunch
You can then go to your Facebook Dating site or app and curate your dating profile further. The feature of ‘stories’ in Facebook Dating works the same way as on Instagram, except you can see people regardless of if you matched with them. You can choose to hide those you don’t wish to see.
Who Can See Your Profile?
Suggested matches on any dating website normally have a few criteria they use to find your potential matches. These include overlapping hobbies, your dating location radius, and other dating preferences. FB Dating has tried to transform the dating industry by drawing additional matches from Facebook events and Facebook groups you are or have been a part of.
Aside from the Facebook friends you’ve added to your secret crush list, you can slightly control who your potential matches are. In your Facebook dating settings, you can choose to see friends of friends based on your existing Facebook friends have made.
If you have listed anyone as a family member on your main Facebook account, then those people will be removed from your potential matches entirely. It is not unluckily for you to come across any family they have created another account other than their regular Facebook account. Some users create accounts aside from their existing Facebook account to avoid someone trying to stalk them on their personal Facebook account.
Safety
Meeting up with people you don’t know is inherently risky, but Facebook Dating has a built-in safety feature that allows you to let loved ones know what you’re doing. Facebook will allow you to open Messenger from Dating to tell a friend or family member the name of the person you’re meeting up with, the time, and the place.
Fifteen minutes before your date happens, that person will receive a notification reminder and access to your live location. They will only be able to see your location for a limited amount of time, compared to something like Apple’s Find My Friend feature. This is another great feature that proves Facebook Dating worth over other dating sites.
FAQ
If your relationship status is set to “single,” do you automatically enter the dating pool?
No, you will only enter the Facebook Dating pool if you activate your Facebook Dating profile. To do this, you have to download the Facebook Dating app or signup on the website. You won’t be added to the dating service unless you add your account.
Do you have to turn on Location Services to use Facebook Dating?
Yes. If you want to search for any potential matches, you will have to allow Facebook Dating access to your location. Most new phones have the feature to turn off your location settings/GPS, but if location settings are turned off, it will give FacebookDating a prompt until you give the app access.
Can Facebook Dating be turned off?
Yes. You can temporarily pause Facebook Dating. While it’s paused, you can still respond to people who have liked or matched with you, but you won’t match with anyone new.
To pause Facebook Dating, go to the general settings menu, and toggle on “Take a Break” in the Account section. You can resume your Dating activity at any time by toggling the setting back off.
Can I block people on Facebook Dating?
Yes. It’s not uncommon for a match to turn creepy or inappropriate, and thus you can block any match. To block someone, simply tap on their profile, then tap the three dots in the upper right-hand corner. From there, you can block them or report their profile.
Dating Tips
1. Don’t get attached
Online dating can be hard sometimes, and you are not guaranteed to meet your soulmate. To avoid getting destroyed every time a match might not work out, it is best to night get your hopes up. Most matches in online dating don’t end up in relationships.
2. Communicate your needs
If you do find someone who you see yourself with, it is important that if you start dating, you speak about what your needs from relationships are. That being said, this won’t be the best thing to speak about straight away.
3. If a match ‘Ghosts’ you/ stops messaging, don’t make a big deal about it
Ghosting specifically refers to when someone stops messaging you out of the blue and has become slang within online dating communities. As mentioned earlier, not all of your potential matches will be the ones, so if a match stops reciprocating your messages, it’s ok to stop messaging them.
4. Go on dates that excite you
When you approach the stage of going on dates and meeting your matches, it is a good idea to go on dates that are activities. This way you not only get to speak to your match but experience exciting things and get to know them another way than simply over dinner.
5. Don’t ignore red flags
No one is perfect, and everyone has their red flags but don’t ignore them when you see them. If you are seeing more things you don’t like in a partner or signs they aren’t the type of person you are looking for, it might be time to cut ties with them.
6. Follow your intuition
Sometimes you might get a feeling about someone, good or bad. Sometimes you have to follow your heart and mind. If you think someone is giving you creepy energy, then maybe don’t go on a date just yet. On the polar opposite, if you are feeling sparks with someone, ask if you can maybe go on a date.
7. Video call
Online dating can be very difficult as not everyone is great at communicating over the phone. A great way to better tell if you will like someone is to have a video call to just speak and talk to them in another form than simply texting or on a date.
Another good form of a distanced date idea could be watching a movie on Netflix using apps that sync your streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and others.
Conclusion
Facebook Dating is one of the simplest dating apps for beginner and well-seasoned online dating users. It is a simple app and website to use and has special features that can help show the real side of you in both a realistic yet fun view. The secret crush feature is an amazing step in the right direction of possibly feeling old crushes or seeing if your friends are interested in you.
The very idea of one of Facebook having a dating service makes perfect sense as there are already billions of users, many of whom are looking for partners. If you have not already made a Facebook dating account, it would be a great idea as it is a refreshing and simple online editing experience that can be just where your future soulmate is.
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