- According to independent analysis from The Verge, Facebook Dating isn’t very popular, especially when compared to other services.
- Facebook hasn’t mentioned much about its dating app since it launched globally in 2019.
- It is highly likely Facebook’s bad reputation for data security plays a part in this service’s apparent lack of popularity.
In 2019, Facebook finally brought its dating app to North America. Previously, it had had a test run in South America. The app is focused on connecting people for the purposes of romantic partnerships, just like the myriad other apps such as Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble.
However, according to some independent analysis from The Verge, it doesn’t appear that the dating app is very popular. The Verge used localized advertisements Facebook runs promoting the service as a way to extrapolate the number of users in major metropolitan areas.
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For example, in New York City, census data estimates there are almost four million unmarried people. Facebook’s own advertisements suggested that 278,000 of those people use its dating app, which is about 7%. Match Group — which owns dating apps such as Tinder and Hinge — claims to have more than that in the New York City area. In fact, the average number of paying subscribers of Match-owned apps is nearly 11 million people across the US. Who knows how many more non-paying users there are.
The Verge breaks down numbers across a few more major US cities. It also posits that the just-leaked info revolving around a potential speed dating app known as Sparked could be a way to bring more users to Facebook Dating.
Regardless, it is very likely that people simply don’t trust Facebook to help them meet their potential partners. Obviously, all dating apps are data-mining their users, but Match Group and other firms don’t have the poor security and privacy reputation of Facebook.
Are you or would you use a Facebook Dating app? Hit up our poll above.
