What’s new with Facebook in 2022? Who will be able to see your Facebook dating profile and who won’t?
With Facebook's newly launched Facebook Dating app in the United States, I'm sure you're wondering if you'll see your friends' Facebook Dating profiles — or if they'll see yours. I have good news and even better news: they will not know you are using Facebook Dating unless you tell them. In fact, the opt-in dating service gives you a lot of control over your profile's privacy.
Nathan Sharp, Product Manager, Facebook Dating, clarified in a press release who will see your Facebook Dating profile and whose profiles will be shown to you. Sharp explained, "People are suggested based on your preferences, interests, and other things you do on Facebook." "Facebook Dating isn't about swiping or having to wait for someone to like you before reaching out." If you're interested in someone, you can let them know by leaving a comment on their profile or by tapping the Like button. You can pass on them if you aren't interested."
More importantly, the people whose Dating profiles you see will not be your Facebook Friends.
Sharp clarified, "Facebook Dating allows you to match with friends of friends and/or people who are not in your friend circle." However, your Facebook or Instagram friends will be able to see your profile if you add them as a "Secret Crush."
"By default, Facebook Dating will not match you with your Facebook Friends," Sharp added, "but people told us they were interested in exploring potential romantic relationships within their extended circles, such as their Facebook friend list and Instagram followers."
According to a dating study conducted by the independent, global market research firm Edelman Intelligence, which surveyed 3,000 Americans aged 18 and up and was commissioned by Facebook, the majority of people are secretly into someone they already know. According to the survey, 53% of online daters have a crush on someone in their circle but are "too nervous to ask them out."
Facebook is hoping that their Secret Crush feature will assist in breaking the ice. In a press release, Facebook stated, "If you choose to use Secret Crush, you can select up to nine of your Facebook friends or Instagram followers who you're interested in." You'll need to connect your Instagram account to Facebook Dating in order to add Instagram followers you're interested in. "If your crush has opted into Facebook Dating, they will receive a notification that someone has a crush on them." What if your crush has added you to their list of Secret Crush? It will appear as a match for both of you. However, that is the only time someone will be aware that you have added them to your Secret Crush List. "No one will know that you've entered their name if your crush isn't on Dating, doesn't create a Secret Crush list, or doesn't put you on their list," the press release clarified.
So, once again, unless you've added them to your Secret Crush list and they've added you to theirs, Facebook Dating will not match you with friends. Because this is such sensitive information, Facebook has taken precautionary measures to ensure users' privacy. "All of your Dating activity will remain in Facebook Dating," according to the press release. "It's not going to be shared with the rest of Facebook." So there's no need to be concerned about your Facebook Dating profile appearing in your aunt's newsfeed or accidentally matching with an old classmate you forgot you friended.
You can also control who sees your profile based on your likes, interests, and other information on your regular Facebook profile. In a press release, Erin Egan, VP and Chief Privacy Officer, Public Policy, stated, "You control who on Facebook can see your Dating profile." "Also, unless you tell your Facebook friends, they won't know you're using Dating." Your current Facebook friends will never be suggested as matches, and you can choose whether you want friends of friends to be suggested as matches — or if you'd rather match with people who aren't friends of friends."
Furthermore, if you have blocked someone on Facebook, they will not be suggested to you on Facebook Dating. The only people who will see your Facebook Dating profile are "the people who have been suggested to you, the people who have been suggested to you, and the people you have added as Secret Crushes."
In other words, unless you add them to your Secret Crush list, your current Facebook Friends list should not appear in your Facebook Dating feed (and you will not appear in theirs). Get scrolling and start making things official on Facebook.