Mark Zuckerberg turns matchmaker with Facebook online dating
The new feature will be free, and is intended to help people find long-term partners, not hook-ups, says CEO Mark Zuckerberg
San José — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the world’s largest social network will soon include a new dating feature — while vowing to make privacy protection its top priority in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Zuckerberg unveiled the plans as he addressed Facebook’s annual F8 developers’ conference in San José, California — emphasising that the focus would be on helping people find long-term partners. "This is going to be for building real, long-term relationships, not just hook-ups," Zuckerberg said in presenting the new feature, noting that one in three marriages in the US starts online — and about 200-million Facebook users identify as being single. Under the new feature, users will be able to create a separate "dating" profile not visible to their network of friends, with potential matches recommended based on dating preferences, points in common and mutual acquaintances. It will be free of charge, in line with Facebook’s core offering. The announce...
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