Facebook brings dating service to Thailand in Asia first
FACEBOOK yesterday officially launched its dating service in Thailand as the first market in Asia and second in the world for the new offering.
Facebook Dating is available to users of the social network who are aged at least 18.
Nathan Sharp, product manager of Facebook Dating and product lead for people discovery, said that this feature is a result of the company’s mission to make Facebook the single best place to start a relationship online.
“Facebook Dating is a dedicated feature within the Facebook app, specially designed to give people full control of their experience looking for a meaningful relationship”, he said.
“People will be able to match with others based on their preferences and interests, through a dedicated dating profile inside the main Facebook app.
“Dating profile associates with a Facebook profile, including just a name and age, and is separated from the user’s Facebook profile.”
Sharp said that the dating service is designed for meaningful relationships rather than short-term unions and the feature is an opt-in that allows people to decide to use it, rather than it being by default.
Moreover, it is in the Facebook app - not a separate app - but only non-friends (on Facebook) and friends of friends can see a user’s dating profile, which is separate profile from the Facebook profile.
Location selection is required since privacy is a key concern.
“Facebook Dating’s messenger is of a different type to Facebook Messenger. It allows only text and emoji icon to be sent.
“Photos, files, and links cannot be sent via the dating messenger,” said Sharp.
He added that Facebook Dating is the new place to first establish a relationship. It was launched first in Colombia.
The feature will also facilitate people to have dating experiences through Event & Group as well.
In Thailand, around 52 million people use Facebook every month, and these people are potential users of the dating services.
“Facebook Discovery is designed to be the very best place for people meet the first time while Facebook Dating is designed to be the very best place for people’s relationships,” Sharp said.
In the United States, one-third of marriages started as relationships online.
