Social networks offer online dating services

Publication date: 09 Sep 2019

Facebook Dating Expands to the U.S.

Facebook has now rolled out its in-app dating service, Facebook Dating, to users in the United States. After initial testing in countries across Latin America and Southeast Asia, the platform aims to expand into Europe, including Russia, early next year.

Facebook Dating matches users based on shared interests, activities, and Facebook interactions. For instance, if users attend the same events or participate in the same groups, they might appear as potential matches for each other. Users can customize their settings to reflect their preferences for potential matches, including gender and specific interests.

When a user expresses interest in a match, they can send a “like” and an accompanying message to initiate contact. Importantly, users won’t see their existing Facebook friends as suggested matches, although they can choose to exclude friends of their Facebook friends as well. A unique “secret crush” feature allows users to express interest in up to nine of their Facebook friends, keeping their selections hidden unless both parties mutually choose each other.

Instagram integration is also a part of Facebook Dating, allowing users to connect their Instagram profiles to their dating accounts. By year’s end, users will even be able to add stories from both Facebook and Instagram to their dating profiles, giving potential matches more insight into their daily lives and interests.

In a similar move, VKontakte recently launched its own dating service, Lovina, allowing the popular Russian social network to enter the online dating space.

New Bot Shows VKontakte Friends Logged Into Pornhub

Web developer Daniil Suvorov from Arkhangelsk created a bot for VKontakte that can reveal which friends have logged into Pornhub using their VKontakte accounts. When VKontakte users log in on Pornhub, the application automatically links to their profiles and gathers general information like their name, city, workplace, and links to other social media profiles, if available.

The bot displays the number of a user’s friends who have logged in to Pornhub and provides links to their VKontakte profiles. However, the bot cannot access hidden friends lists. Users with private lists must either temporarily make their lists public or grant the bot access by adding a special account as a friend to retrieve the information.