Facebook Dating, the social media network’s competitor to Tinder and other dating apps, launches today in Europe after a long hold-up from its scheduled Valentine’s Day debut.
The dating service uses the very same functions in Europe as it does in the United States, utilizing the existing profile you’ve created on Facebook to discover possible matches. Facebook tailors these matches with your choices, Facebook activity, and, if you decide in, groups and events.
While the service still only looks like a tab in Facebook’s mobile app, it’s deeply incorporate with the remainder of the social giant’s items. Your profile can pull stories and pictures from Instagram, you can initiate Messenger video calls from chats, and the splashy Secret Crush feature searches both your Instagram fans and Facebook buddies for prospective matches.
Facebook touts the service’s personal privacy features, with much of its more individual matching strategies entirely optional. However the close connection Facebook Dating has to the rest of the company‘s items has raised concerns in the past. Back in February, Facebook selected to press back the service’s launch after regulators in Ireland disagreed with the timing of the planned launch. Business releasing such items need to undergo a review called a Data Processing Impact Evaluation (DPIA) under the European Union’s GDPR defenses, and Facebook apparently notified regulators too late of its strategies, raising concerns about data privacy compliance.
However, Facebook Dating is now offered in over 50 countries, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.