Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, on Tuesday announced that the world’s largest social network will soon include a new dating service.
Zuckerberg said this in a statement as he unveiled the plans at Facebook’s annual developers’ conference.
He said the new dating feature was built from the ground-up with privacy and safety in mind as the social network reels from the revelation of a mass breach involving the personal data of tens of millions of its users.
According to him, after setting up a distinct and private dating profile, user will be able to check out groups or events where they live, along with profiles of other Facebook members who are taking part.
“This is going to be for building real, long-term relationships, not just hook-ups,” Zuckerberg said.
“People already use Facebook to meet new people, and we want to make that experience better.
“People will be able to create a dating profile that is separate from their Facebook profile and potential matches will be recommended based on dating preferences, things in common, and mutual friends,” he added.
In presenting the new feature, Zuckerberg noted that one-in-three marriages in the United States start online, and that some 200 million people on Facebook identify as being single.
Meanwhile, Facebook’s developer conference comes as the giant faces global scrutiny over the mass harvesting of personal data for use by a British political consultancy, Cambridge Analytica, which worked for Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign.
Facebook has admitted up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked in the scandal, which saw Zuckerberg grilled at length by the US Congress last month.
“We need to make sure that never happens again,” Zuckerberg told the audience packed with software developers, as he underscored the firm’s commitment to boosting privacy protections.
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