Facebook is trying out a new feature that connects users on its Messenger chat platform, but only if they both accept. It looks a lot like Tinder, except it only appears to be connecting people who are already friends with each other.
A message, "[Name redacted] and 15 others may want to meet up with you this week", popped up on a Motherboard's reporter phone recently. Upon further investigation, the outlet was able to confirm that it was indeed very similar to Tinder's core offering. Instead of left or right swipe - as is the case on Tinder, Facebook asks people whether they would like to meet up with a particular person. Users then have two options "No Thanks", and "Yes". If they both agree, Facebook will presumably set wheels in motion to let them know that both of them have shown interest in meeting each other.
On the other hand, it’s unclear how Facebook matches people. The report says it gives you notifications informing you that some of your friends may be looking to meet up. How are these friends chosen? The feature is currently being tested amongst users in Toronto (Canada) and New Zealand. Facebook hasn’t yet confirmed whether a wider rollout will happen over the coming months.
It won’t, however, be surprising if Facebook does bring the features to more users in different countries. The company has been known to emulate features from Snapchat in the past, and with its vast user-base, Tinder may indeed be in Facebook’s sights. Also, given Facebook’s recent experiments with AI, it’s likely that machine learning algorithms will come into play for this feature.
A message, "[Name redacted] and 15 others may want to meet up with you this week", popped up on a Motherboard's reporter phone recently. Upon further investigation, the outlet was able to confirm that it was indeed very similar to Tinder's core offering. Instead of left or right swipe - as is the case on Tinder, Facebook asks people whether they would like to meet up with a particular person. Users then have two options "No Thanks", and "Yes". If they both agree, Facebook will presumably set wheels in motion to let them know that both of them have shown interest in meeting each other.
On the other hand, it’s unclear how Facebook matches people. The report says it gives you notifications informing you that some of your friends may be looking to meet up. How are these friends chosen? The feature is currently being tested amongst users in Toronto (Canada) and New Zealand. Facebook hasn’t yet confirmed whether a wider rollout will happen over the coming months.
It won’t, however, be surprising if Facebook does bring the features to more users in different countries. The company has been known to emulate features from Snapchat in the past, and with its vast user-base, Tinder may indeed be in Facebook’s sights. Also, given Facebook’s recent experiments with AI, it’s likely that machine learning algorithms will come into play for this feature.
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