Meet your match: Facebook Dating is officially available in Canada

Facebook Dating/ Supplied

If you’re getting tired of swiping on Tinder, you’ll now be able to try your luck at dating on Facebook.

Starting today, Facebook Dating is officially available in Canada, which also happens to be the first country in North America to launch the new service.

“Canadians are highly social and tech-savvy, with more than 24 million people coming to Facebook every month,” Charmaine Hung, technical program manager for Facebook Dating, told Daily Hive.

“People in Canada already been using Facebook to connect and celebrate relationships, and we believe Dating will be a great way for them to create new meaningful connections based on their shared interests.”

Facebook Dating is a feature within the Facebook app. Similar to other dating apps, Facebook Dating will match individuals based on their preferences and interests.

From a practical standpoint, it’s brilliant: More than 200 million Facebook users have listed themselves as single in their relationship status, says Facebook.

Here’s a breakdown of how the service works:

Users will have a separate dating profile: Facebook Dating is a dedicated feature on the Facebook app. Dating activity will not be shared on your Facebook profile or news feed.
You will match with people based on things you have in common: You will receive suggested matches based on your preferences, interests, and your Facebook activity.
You can manage who can see your dating profile: Inside Facebook Dating, only your suggested matches and those suggested to you can see your dating profile. Your Facebook friends and anyone blocked will not be included in your suggestions.
You can choose to opt-in to events and groups to see other daters: You can choose to see other people using Facebook Dating within events and groups. When you choose to see these people, you’ll also become visible to them.
The feature has enhanced privacy controls: Users will have the ability to include or hide friends of friends in your pool of suggested matches. You can also block or report someone if you feel uncomfortable at any point.

Hung says the feature is an “incredible” way to find a match.

“We view this as an incredible opportunity to continue helping people build relationships in meaningful ways on Facebook.”

According to Hung, Facebook took its time to roll out the feature in order to make safety and security a priority.

“We know that safety and authenticity are incredibly important when it comes to online dating, which is why we built this experience with those as top priorities,” she said.

“We take people’s privacy and the integrity of our platform very seriously — this is a top, company-wide priority.

Facebook Dating rolled out in Colombia as a test in September and launched in Thailand on Wednesday.

See also