This archive report was first published on 6 September 2019.
Facebook Dating Raises Concerns Amid Privacy Scandals ¶
Facebook Dating, which has been available in other countries since last year, went live in the US on September 5th, 2019. This move is aimed at helping Facebook compete with existing dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, and OKCupid.
However, this announcement comes days after the company admitted to exposing more than 419m user IDs and phone numbers online, a glitch in June 2018 that made private posts of 14 million users public, and another breach in September 2018 which compromised the data of 50 million users.
Jason Kelley, a digital strategist, expressed concerns about Facebook's ability to handle intimate personal data, citing the company's phone number breach and its inability to determine whether privacy concerns have been effectively resolved.
"Facebook says the dating service is secure, but how do we know it won’t realize a few years from now it was not as protected as it thought?" Kelley said. "It gives us pause when things they have changed years ago are still being shown to cause problems in terms of data privacy."
Facebook Dating allows users to create a separate profile, opt into the service, and link with potential matches based on location, indicated preferences, events attended, groups, and other factors. The service also integrates with Instagram and offers a feature called ‘Secret Crush’, allowing users to compile a list of friends they have an interest in.
Despite Facebook's praise for the new privacy and security features within the dating service, many are skeptical about the company's ability to handle intimate personal data. The company has been mired by numerous privacy scandals, including a $5 billion Federal Trade Commission fine and a new antitrust investigation.
"If you’re trying to avoid dating services that have red flags, you can’t really find one that has more red flags than Facebook," Jason Kelley said. "They have a terrible track record of keeping user data safe."
Facebook Dating is currently available in 22 countries, including the US, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, Suriname, Thailand, Uruguay, and Vietnam. Upcoming release dates include Australia by the end of 2019 and Europe in early 2020.
