Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced the social media platform will launch its own dating app, though has emphasised it will not be “just for hook-ups”.
Speaking at Facebook’s annual F8 conference held this week, Zuckerberg said the idea was borne out of the millions of single people presently using Facebook.
“There are 200 million people on Facebook that list themselves as single, so clearly there’s something to do here,” Zuckerberg said.
Careful not to be compared to the likes of Tinder or Grindr, Zuckerberg said the app will hopefully foster “long-term relationships”.
According to ABC News, Tinder’s share price fell a whopping 18 per cent after the announcement was made.
The app will be optional to current users and will work as a separate platform altogether from Facebook.
Meaning your 500-plus friend base will not be privy to your use of the platform.
Given Facebook’s recent data scandal, Zuckerberg was quick to assure the audience privacy was the platform’s number one priority.
“I want to be clear that we have designed this with privacy and safety in mind from the beginning,” he said.
Details remain scant about the app, however, a prototype presented to the F8 audience showed a heart-shaped button in the top-right corner of the Facebook homepage.
Speaking on the announcement Facebook’s chief product officer Chris Cox said the concept behind the dating app was to give users a safe and private platform to connect.
Cox said Facebook hoped to launch it “In a way that was opt-in, in a way that was safe, and in a way that took advantage of the unique properties of the platform and didn’t get in the way of everyone who wasn’t interested in dating.”
