Facebook plans to rival Match in dating market with new app

Facebook has announced plans to get itself back out there in the online dating market.

Talking at a software developer conference yesterday, under-fire chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the app would focus on “real-long term relationships – not just hookups.”

“There are 200 million people on Facebook that list themselves as single, so clearly there’s something to do here.

“And if we are committed to building meaningful relationships, then this is perhaps the most meaningful of all,” he told the conference.

The social media giant’s attempts at playing cupid will look to rival the likes of Match, which saw its shares tumble 17 per cent last night following Facebook’s announcement.

Facebook already owns one of the biggest dating apps in the world, Tinder.

Matches will be put together based on dating preferences, things in common and mutual friends.

Zuckerberg also told the audience that privacy issues would be kept in mind.

It follows Zuckerberg being grilled by Congress over the Cambridge Analytica scandal last month.

Read more: Zuckerberg to face Congress as Cambridge Analytica attacks critics

A post on Facebook’s website gave further details about the app:

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.

They’ll have the option to discover others with similar interests through their Groups or Events. However, what people do within the dating feature will not be shown to their friends. We’ll share more information when this begins testing later this year.