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Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has released plans for a new concept at the announcement packed F8 developer conference. Facebook will soon be launching a market competitive dating feature.
The dating utility is declared as being completely opt-in and removed from current friends lists. Users will have an opportunity to create a private dating profile that will connect them with individuals outside of their normal network and though removed from their actual Facebook profiles they will have the option of pulling from their already inputted information.
One of the largest caveats mentioned was that the platform will be completely free, acting as a move to counter the growth of premium style interfaces as championed by groups like Tinder.
In light of this news the market spent almost no time reacting with a 20% plunge in Match stock, complimented by an 18% dive in their parent company, IAC.
In light of this news Match CEO Mandy Ginsberg was recorded as stating that she is “…flattered that Facebook is coming into our space – and sees the global opportunity that we do – as Tinder continues to skyrocket,” and “…we’re surprised at the timing given the amount of personal and sensitive data that comes with this territory,” consciously highlighting the recent Facebook woe’s with Cambridge Analytica.
Despite this, in a recent Facebook post Zuckerberg highlighted “one thing I learned from my experience testifying in Congress is that I didn’t have clear enough answers to some of the questions about data. We’re working to make sure these controls are clear, and we will have more to come soon,” as well as a definitive statement promising “…we’re going to continue building products that connect people in new ways…. even while we focus on keeping people safe.”
While the details surrounding the project are still sparse with no release date mentioned, users are left excited but wondering if this will act as the turning point for Facebook transparency and data collection.
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