Mr Zuckerberg kicked off the company’s annual conference by recognising it had not “been easy” to be a Facebook developer “these last couple of months”, following the biggest data breach in the company’s 14-year history. Facebook had already been changing what information it makes available to other companies like Match as part of its efforts to improve its privacy reputation. Timing for the service has not yet been announced.
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Following the recent calamity involving inappropriate use of data by Russian authorities and Cambridge Analytica, the Facebook team is building new and friendlier services across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Oculus.
“Security isn’t a problem than you ever fully solve”, said Zuckerberg.
Acknowledging the current common sentiment regarding Facebook, Zuckerberg even addressed that aspect by stating, “We have designed this with privacy and safety in mind from the beginning”.
While it seems that some information will be shared between the two profiles, your friends won’t know who you intend to, or who you poke. Facebook’s chief product officer, Chris Cox, said, “by unlocking an event, users can see people who are going to the same event and have activated the “Dating” profile feature”, as the Indian Express reported.
She said: “We’re flattered that Facebook is coming into our space – and sees the global opportunity that we do – as Tinder continues to skyrocket”.
Zuckerberg said people have been asking for this feature, which comes in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, but warns that using the option can have a negative effect on your Facebook experience.
Zuckerberg also said that the Facebook dating app will be built with a focus on privacy, which is a sensitive topic for people who use such services. “Facebook’s entry will only be invigorating to all of us”.
For those anxious about privacy, the dating feature will not be shown to existing Facebook friends.
Facebook will now be competing with Tinder. It also helps companies weed out fake profiles. In an interview given to Wired before his F8 keynote on Tuesday, Zuckerberg said it would take around three years to get Facebook back on track. Match, which owns major dating apps like Tinder and OkCupid, fell 22 percent – its largest one-day drop ever – and IAC, which owns more than a fifth of Match, fell almost 18 percent in its biggest daily loss in about 13 years, according to Reuters. Shares of Match.com, which owns Tinder, tumbled on the news. Match Group’s stock dropped 18 percent after the announcement.
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Meanwhile, Hinge – another app-based dating service – pointed out similarities between its own app and the Facebook dating service mockup shown at the conference. Let the dying center handle potential risks or societal consequences, after all, the most lucrative business is all about harnessing loopholes from debatable policies.
