---
title: "Facebook Wants to Use All Its Dirt on You to Help You Find Love"
description: "Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has embarked on an extended [apology tour]() following the [Cambridge Analytica debacle.]() At today's Facebook [F8 developer's conference](), he predictably took the chance to apologize *yet again –* then announced a host of new Facebook features.…"
date: "2018-05-01"
modified: "2018-05-02"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/facebook-dirt-help-find-love"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
  - "Meta"
tags:
  - "data privacy"
  - "facebook"
  - "mark zuckerberg"
  - "online dating"
---

# Facebook Wants to Use All Its Dirt on You to Help You Find Love

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/fb-dating.png>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://flic.kr/p/7wFVXF" target="\_blank"\>gfpeck / Emily Cho\</a\>\</em\>*

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has embarked on an extended [apology tour](<https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/business/facebook-zuckerberg-apologies/?utm_term=.8643a0a2c917>) following the [Cambridge Analytica debacle.](<https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-exposed-87-million-users-to-cambridge-analytica/>) At today's Facebook [F8 developer's conference](<https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/05/f8-2018-day-1/>), he predictably took the chance to apologize *yet again –* then announced a host of new Facebook features. Among a number of insignificant software updates (and the new [option to wipe your data history)](<https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/1/17307346/facebook-clear-history-new-privacy-feature>) Facebook revealed the real shocker: it's [building a dating platform](<https://mashable.com/2018/05/01/facebook-announces-dating-service-f8-not-for-hookups/#xZfvqHPZkGqk>).

The timing couldn't be more conspicuous. After all the leaks and private information given away without consent, Facebook wants you to trust them with what is arguably your most *intimate* data?

[On paper](<https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/05/f8-2018-day-1/>), it all sounds pretty harmless. The dating platform is going to sit on top of regular Facebook profiles, and is an opt-in feature. You will also only find other Facebook users, who have also opted in. Dating profiles are completely separate from your regular profile, and include any information or images you chose to put on there.

And what sort of data experience should we expect from Zuck? "Long-term relationships, not hookups," [says Zuckerberg](<https://twitter.com/cnni/status/991379629989679104>) on stage at the conference.

Sounds like Facebook has done its homework. Except that it will have to convince its two billion users to throw even more data at it. Unfortunately, if [recent trends](<https://www.recode.net/2018/4/30/17301034/facebook-f8-preview-mark-zuckerberg-facebook-responsibility>) are anything to go by, Facebook may have yet another data goldmine on its hands — users are [easily swayed](<http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-ad-targeting-means-voters-can-be-swayed-at-low-cost-2017-10>) by Facebook's lucrative, "how-bad-can-it-really-be?" offerings.

Besides, there's no beating around the bush, [Facebook is a monopoly](<https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/10/17220934/facebook-monopoly-competitor-mark-zuckerberg-senate-hearing-lindsey-graham>) — it wields immense power over its two billion users. But it's a social media monopoly. And it's far from the only online dating site on the web. Ironically, other dating platforms have been actively distancing themselves from Facebook recently. Bumble [removed its Facebook login function](<https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/16/bumble-facebook-login/>), and Tinder users had to change their login method after Facebook's framework updates [broke Tinder's Sign-in-with-Facebook feature](<https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/4/17200034/facebook-broke-tinder-down-privacy-api-fixes>).

But there are over two billion Facebook users, and only [tens of millions](<https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/30/fashion/tinder-the-fast-growing-dating-app-taps-an-age-old-truth.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3As&_r=1>) of Tinder users. Statistically, there's a decent chance you'll have a friend or two signing up to find "long-term" love.

What Facebook will do with dating data is the next big question – and chances are, it won't be pretty. And at this point, Facebook can do pretty much whatever it wants (including [not paying taxes](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-12/facebook-to-start-paying-tax-locally-instead-of-through-ireland>)). A company the size of Facebook, won't start magically regulating itself.

https://twitter.com/mollywood/status/991375937106145280

With Dating, Facebook is carrying on collecting people's data as if nothing happened. Sure, Zuck apologized (profusely), but are we really ready to move on from this yet? Yes, it's possible that users could start trusting Facebook again in the future. But where does that leave us? The train has long left the station, and yet another crash is likely right around the corner. It's a dark future, unless regulators are willing to step in before it's too late.

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)