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Facebook has officially launchedFacebook Dating in the United States.

In its announcement998 Archives the company explains how Facebook Dating is a completely different product from Facebook. Users who are 18 and older and have the latest version of the Facebook app will be able to set up their own unique Dating profile, completely separate from their profile on Facebook.

Once set up, Facebook will suggest possible matches based on your “preferences, interests, and things you do on Facebook.” Dating will match you with friends of your Facebook friends and people completely out of your network. The service will also integrate with Facebook Events and Groups so you can see possible matches within your current online communities and future IRL gatherings you attend.

However, Dating will not suggest matches with your Facebook friends unless you specifically choose them as a “Secret Crush.”

With Secret Crush, you can choose up to nine of your friends, and if they add you to their list, Facebook Dating will notify the both of you. If your Secret Crush isn’t a Dating user or doesn’t add you to their list, Facebook says no one will ever know you were interested in them.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Speaking of keeping things private, Facebook is really driving home the privacy aspects of Dating.

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“Finding a romantic partner is deeply personal, which is why we built Dating to be safe, inclusive and opt-in,” Facebook says in its post. “Safety, security and privacy are at the forefront of this product.”

SEE ALSO: Facebook updates its controversial facial recognition settings

In a completely separate announcementfocused on the service’s privacy features, Facebook said that it will only pull a user’s first name and age from their current Facebook profile if they choose to create a Dating profile. Minus those two attributes, nothing else is shared between the two services.

The company says it has opted to not show a user’s gender identity to potential matches in order to respect user privacy. Dating activity is shown in a dedicated space on the Facebook app and is never shared to a user’s main Facebook profile or newsfeed.

One interesting safety feature allows Dating users to share information and location details about an upcoming date with a friend via Facebook Messenger so users can feel safe about meeting up with someone they don’t already know.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Facebook deeply integrated Dating and Instagram. Users who connect their Instagram profiles will be able to share posts from the app directly to Facebook Dating. Instagram followers can also be added to a user’s Secret Crush list alongside their Facebook friends. The company says it will also soon be rolling out the ability to add both Facebook and Instagram Stories to a user’s Dating profile.

The U.S. launch of Facebook Dating comes more than a year after the social networking giant first announcedit was creating a dating service.

Facebook Dating was previously available in 19 other countries such as Argentina, Malaysia, and the Philippines, to name a few. The company says that feedback it received from users in those countries was implemented for the rollout in the U.S.

Facebook says it plans to launch Facebook Dating in Europe by early 2020.

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