Facebook was hosting their annual conference, F8 today and they are adding a number of new features, most interesting of these will be the dating feature that is coming soon.
How will this work?
Well, Zuckerburg took a veiled shot at Tinder and similar dating services which are aimed at more casual hook-ups as he said:
This is going to be for building real, long-term relationships — not just hook-ups
The feature will require users to opt-in and will match users with people who are not their friends already.
The new dating feature links to events and groups on the larger platform, allowing users with dating profiles to connect via shared interests or commonly attended events.
Users of this feature will also be able to send messages which are not linked to their Facebook Messenger.
There was no timeline on when this feature can be expected but this is definitely one of the biggest additions to Facebook and it will be very interesting to see how they execute this.
How will this be received in Zim?
In America, dating services such as Tinder and the hook-up culture is not viewed as taboo so these apps can easily gain popularity whereas in Zimbabwe people are a bit more cautious about relationships and this means engagement of such apps is usually much lower.
On the other hand, Tinder may have been suffering because it’s not really popular here and maybe this new feature on Facebook will encourage wider adoption of dating services in Zimbabwe and make them more acceptable. I don’t think this will be the case but I may be wrong… Facebook bundles could make this more accessible to Zimbabweans than the current dating applications out there.
Other new features coming to Facebook…
This conference comes shortly after Facebook’s Cambridge-Analytica related struggles and this unveiling of new features may help their case as these may take user’s minds from privacy concerns to excitement for the new stuff coming their way.
A response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal?
Firstly, FB is introducing a feature which seems a direct response to appease those who were not happy about the Cambridge Analytica situation. With the new feature, users will be able to track which apps and websites you interact with. You will also be able to clear this information from your account making it harder for your data to be used for sinister purposes.
This feature won’t be coming soon enough to end your privacy fears it seems. The feature was said to be a few months away. This is probably because the feature was not already in development but was actually forced onto the agenda because of their recent struggles.
Messenger getting a new lick of paint
FB Messenger service will be getting a redesign with the goal of simplifying the experience once again. Zuckerberg said:
When you’re messaging, you really want a simple and fast experience. We’re taking this moment to completely redesign Messenger to focus on these ideas.
The app is said to be coming very soon, so if you’re a user of Messenger keep an eye out for that.
AR Studio getting a revamp as well
The social media giant’s augmented reality app is making it easier to create AR content. AR Studio is getting new tracking capabilities; i.e. target tracking (objects), face tracking, hand tracking and body tracking.
Facebook will also now allow users to share their AR creations to Messenger, Instagram and Facebook Lite. The feature, like many other introduced today, has no timeline but is already in beta so you can expect it sooner than later.
What do you think about the new features coming to Facebook? Particularly the dating feature. Do you think this will hit the ground running in Zimbabwe or will people steer clear on this one? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below!
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Definitely it will gain popularity as the people now need to see change everywhere