Forget 'Like' Buttons, Facebook Will Help You Find True Love With New Dating Feature

CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced the feature yesterday 1 May, during the company's F8 developers conference.

"There are 200 million people on Facebook who list themselves as single, so clearly there's something to do here," he said.

"If we're focused on helping people build meaningful relationships, then this is perhaps the most meaningful one of all," he added.

Facebook product chief Chris Cox took to the stage after Zuckerberg to explain more and to give the audience a tour of the design.

1. Create your dating profile. It will only show your first name to people who use the dating feature, and will not be visible to your friends nor appear on your newsfeed.

2. Once you’ve set up your dating profile, you can browse for events and groups in your city related to your interest.

3. If you see an event you’re interested in, you can unlock it, and browse through other dating users who've unlocked the event as well.

4. You can then start a private conversation with them in a messaging inbox connected to the profile.

"We like this, by the way, because it mirrors the way people actually date, which is usually at events and institutions that they're connected through," Cox said, as reported on NBC news.

According to Cox, Facebook’s Dating feature will be tested out later this year.

However, they are seemingly unbothered by the competition.

"We're flattered that Facebook is coming into our space—and sees the global opportunity that we do—as Tinder continues to skyrocket. We're surprised at the timing given the amount of personal and sensitive data that comes with this territory," Mandy Ginsberg, the CEO of Match Group, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, parent company of Match, IAC's CEO Joey Levin threw some shade at Facebook by saying, "Come on in. The water's warm. Their product could be great for US/Russia relationships."