Facebook Dating is a free dating service built into the Facebook app. It is not a separate download. To turn it on, open the Facebook app, tap the menu icon, scroll down to All Shortcuts, and tap Dating. You then build a dating profile that stays separate from your regular Facebook profile, and your friends never see it.
Where to find it in the app
Tap the menu icon — three lines in the top right on Android, bottom right on iOS. Scroll to All Shortcuts and look for Dating, a heart-shaped icon that usually sits near Groups and Marketplace. If you don’t see it there, tap See More to expand the full list.
Dating lives inside the main Facebook app only. There is no separate Facebook Dating app and no desktop version, so a computer won’t work. Keep the app updated and allow location access, since matching depends on where you are.
Who can use Facebook Dating
You must be at least 18 and living in a supported country, according to Meta’s Supplemental Facebook Dating Terms. The service runs in the United States, Canada, and dozens of other countries.
Europe took longer. Meta launched Dating across Europe in October 2020 after a delay over data protection questions, and it is still available there as of 2026, including the UK and Ireland.
Creating your dating profile
Your dating profile is separate from your normal one. Friends do not see it, and nothing you do in Dating shows up in your feed. Facebook also won’t suggest you to your own friends as a match unless you use Secret Crush.
- Tap Dating, then follow the setup prompts.
- Pick photos that aren’t on your main profile.
- Set your age range, distance, and preferences.
- Answer a few prompts in your own words.
- Read your profile back before you publish it.
The Facebook Dating Help Center covers editing or deleting that profile later.
Features you’ll actually use
Secret Crush lets you add up to nine Facebook friends or Instagram followers. Nobody is told anything unless you both pick each other, and then you both get a match notification. You can also send an ordinary crush or like, which the other person can see.
In September 2025 Meta added a Dating Assistant and a Meet Cute feature to cut down on endless swiping. Meet Cute sends one surprise match a week. Both started in the US and Canada and were still rolling out as of 2026.
Basic safety
Nobody genuine asks a stranger for money. The FTC’s guide to romance scams is blunt about it: never send money or gifts to a sweetheart you haven’t met in person. AARP’s fraud resources walk through the warning signs, from love bombing to crypto investment pitches.
Meet in public the first few times and tell a friend where you’re going. If you’d rather skip Dating and meet singles through regular Facebook, groups and events still work. Our guide to dating on Facebook as a grown-up goes deeper on staying safe.