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Facebook will soon begin to offer online dating service, founder, Mark Zuckerberg announced on Tuesday, saying the focus would be on helping people find long-term partners.
Zuckerberg unveiled the plans while addressing Facebook’s annual F8 developers conference in San Jose, California.
“This is going to be for building real, long-term relationships, not just hookups,” Zuckerberg said in presenting the new feature, noting that one in three marriages in the United States start online — and that some 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 33-year-old CEO also said the dating offer was built from the ground up with privacy and safety in mind, as he underscored the firm’s commitment to boosting privacy protections.
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