If you want to date on Facebook, use the built-in Dating feature and skip the “adult dating” groups and pages entirely. Dating is free, it keeps your real profile separate, and nobody in it needs your money. The groups are almost always scams. Here is how to start safely.
Where Facebook Dating actually lives
Dating works only inside the Facebook mobile app on Android or iPhone, not in a desktop browser. Open the app, tap the menu with three lines, and look for Dating in your shortcuts. If it is not there, type “Facebook Dating” into the search bar, or check the eligibility rules in Meta’s Facebook Dating help pages.
Your Dating profile stays separate from your regular profile. Your friends do not see it, and Facebook does not match you with people you are already friends with. Our walkthrough of the Dating feature covers setup step by step.
Why “adult dating” groups are a trap
Groups and pages advertising adult dating, arrangements, or local hookups are doing one of two things: collecting your details for a scam, or breaking Facebook’s rules until the page disappears. The photos are usually stolen from someone else’s account. Nothing honest requires a group to meet someone.
And no real romantic interest ever asks for gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, or access to your bank. Not for a plane ticket, not for a hospital bill. That request by itself ends the conversation.
The romance scam playbook
The FTC found that nearly 60% of people who reported losing money to a romance scam in 2025 said it started on a social media platform rather than a dating app. Older adults get hit hardest: the FTC’s report to Congress found people 60 and over are far more likely than younger adults to lose money this way.
The script rarely changes. Strong feelings arrive within days. There is always a reason they cannot video call. They push you onto WhatsApp or text, where Facebook cannot see them. Then an emergency shows up that only you can fix.
Watch for these, and read the FTC’s rundown of how romance scams work:
- Declares love within days
- Never free for video calls
- Moves you off Facebook fast
- Asks for money or gift cards
- Photos look professionally staged
Set your privacy before you start
Two settings matter most: who can see your profile details, and who can see your friends list. A public friends list hands a scammer a list of names to impersonate.
Start at your profile picture, then Settings and privacy, then Settings. Under Audience and visibility, open How people find and contact you and set who can see your friends list to Friends or Only Me. Facebook keeps moving these controls, and as of 2026 some have shifted into Accounts Center under your Meta Account, so follow the current menu rather than an old screenshot. Then run Privacy Checkup, which covers visibility, security, and friend requests.
Meeting in person safely
Video call before you meet; scammers will not. Meet in daylight, in a public place, and drive yourself or take your own ride.
Tell a friend or your kids where you are going and when you will be back. Keep it short. Anyone pressuring you to hurry is telling you something useful.
Coming back to dating after a loss
If you are widowed or divorced, give yourself the time you need first. AARP’s guide to dating after 50 is a level-headed place to start, and our guide to meeting singles on Facebook covers the ordinary ways people connect there.
Loneliness is what scammers actually price. Going in rested and unhurried is real protection.
If something goes wrong
Report it to the FTC and to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. You can also call the AARP Fraud Watch Network helpline at 877-908-3360. Reporting helps the next person.