Facebook Dating expands to Europe after 9-month+ delay

Facebook Inc announced yesterday it is launching Facebook Dating in 32 European countries after a delay from its planned Valentine’s Day debut due to privacy concerns of Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner. 

Facebook Dating is now available for the European Facebook users in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. 

As it is available in as an opt-in space within the Facebook app, users can now create a profile at facebook.com/dating. According to Facebook, more than 1.5 billion matches have been created so far in the 20 countries the Dating was available since its launch. Facebook Dating is also currently available in 20 other countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Suriname, Thailand, the United States, Uruguay and Vietnam.  

Facebook Dating users can share Facebook or Instagram stories in their Dating profile; can explore potential relationships with people they already follow on Facebook and/or Instagram with Secret Crush feature; can add Facebook events and groups to the Dating profile and see the ones sharing the same interests with them; and can start a video chat for a virtual date. 

About the privacy concerns of DPC, ,n a press release about the European launch, Facebook said that “We worked with experts in these areas to provide easy access to safety tips and build protections into Facebook Dating, including the ability to report and block anyone, as well as stopping people from sending photos, links, payments or videos in messages.” The company also released a blog post regarding privacy matters about Facebook Dating. 

DPC said to Techcrunch that Facebook Inc. made some changes in Facebook Dating in light of concerns it raised. The company made some changes in the user interface, dating location, and sign-up flow, as well as some clarifications on the use of special category data and usage of the information in Facebook Dating across the Facebook platform.