Who the Hell Is Actually Using Facebook Dating?

Cyrus Yongbanthom has the aura azygous moms look to love.

A 29-year-old teacher and instrumentalist from Richmond, Virginia, Yongbanthom didn’t cognize overmuch astir Facebook Dating earlier creating a illustration successful 2023. Still, his matches sort of made sense. “It’s conscionable a ma happening to beryllium connected Facebook, I guess,” helium says of the cognition astir the societal network. What Yongbanthom couldn’t fig retired was wherefore helium besides kept matching with radical who were truthful acold away. “No 1 is ever adjacent me, which is absorbing fixed determination are truthful galore users connected Facebook Dating.”

Twenty-one cardinal users, actually. In November, for the archetypal clip since its motorboat successful 2019, Meta shared with WIRED idiosyncratic accusation astir Facebook Dating, and the figures landed to the dependable of corporate astonishment. Suddenly, the level was a concealed hit—and bigger than Hinge, its closest rival. Even much bewildering was however Facebook Dating seems to beryllium dilatory catching connected among young people, with 1.77 cardinal regular progressive US users betwixt ages 18 and 29, a stat that challenges the thought that lone boomers usage Facebook. According to a Pew survey from past year, 32 percent of teen respondents said they usage Facebook compared to 71 percent successful 2015, though Facebook Dating notes that regular conversations among its 18-to-29 demographic accrued by 24 percent successful 2024.

Facebook Dating is not similar immoderate different dating app connected the market. It’s technically not adjacent an app. Like Marketplace oregon Groups, it’s a work wrong the Facebook app. It besides doesn’t beryllium connected a subscription exemplary similar Bumble oregon Tinder, a large vantage erstwhile onboarding caller users. That’s what Olivia Nwokoma, a 24-year-old hospitality idiosyncratic successful Maryland, likes astir it the most. “It doesn’t artifact the amended features down a paywall,” she says. Nwokoma, who is ever connected the lookout for a bully woody connected Facebook Marketplace, prefers men implicit 6 feet, truthful erstwhile a dating app allows for it—and Facebook Dating does—she volition often filter by height.

AI-Based Vibe Checks

What Facebook Dating lacks successful cool, it much than makes up for successful efficiency. Like each different dating app this year, Facebook went each successful connected AI. Unlike each different dating app, it has the astir implicit dating adjunct I’ve seen. Which is to accidental it precise overmuch resembles ChatGPT successful its speed, functionality, and reasoning.

The extremity is to physique functionality that helps you “skip the swipe,” says Facebook Dating merchandise manager Neha Kumar. “You tin accidental ‘I privation to find idiosyncratic who loves going to euphony festivals and would beryllium down to research the Brooklyn nutrient country with me,’ and it volition find a lucifer for you.” It besides has preselected prompts—from “find maine idiosyncratic who loves baking” to “show maine the apical lucifer successful my city.” “We’re archetypal to marketplace with a full-fledged adjunct that you tin chat with that gives you proposal and recommendations crossed your full journey,” Kumar says. There volition beryllium nary paywalls oregon tiered services, she adds, reasoning, “I deliberation radical are conscionable fed up with their halfway quality tendency of uncovering transportation and uncovering emotion being monetized.”

During Kumar’s demo implicit Zoom, she asks the adjunct to find idiosyncratic her ma mightiness similar for her, and aft a little glitch, it recommends Dwight, a 39-year-old New York City–based entrepreneur who “values loyalty and trust” and is simply a “big foodie.”

“So this is idiosyncratic the adjunct thinks I should bring location to my mom,” Kumar says.