Facebook during its annual developers conference, F8 on Tuesday, announced that it will launch a dedicated dating service in a challenge to hugely popular dating apps like Tinder.
In a move to attract users from dating apps, Facebook will launch features within its app which connect users to people who are not their friends to help them meet new people and start relationships.
Speaking at the conference in San Jose, California, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said: "If we are focused on helping people build meaningful relationships then perhaps this is the most meaningful of all... so we are launching a whole set of new features around dating."
Users can set up a dating profile with their first name, which the company said won't be visible to friends and will not appear in News Feeds. The feature is opt-in and users will not be matched with people they are already friends with, according to Facebook.
Before dating, the social networking behemoth has expanded into numerous other features pioneered by other tech companies, ranging from job postings to payments and online food delivery. Although Facebook has positioned these endeavors as just adding utility for users, they've been part of a broader effort to get people spending as much time as possible on Facebook. By providing a range of services in one place, the company becomes even more indispensable in people's lives.
And, certainly, in doing so it also maintains its dominance over competitors, whether established or potential.
