Is Anyone Actually Using Facebook Dating?

Last year, we reviewed Facebook dating and determined that you definitely don’t need it. Turns out you all took our advice.

Despite heavy promotion ahead of Facebook Dating’s US release last September, the social-media platform’s new online dating service hasn’t had the sweeping effect on the dating landscape its creators anticipated. According to Fortune, while Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has remained vaguely optimistic about the project’s success in recent months, competitors have made it clear they’re suffering little from the emergence of a new kid on the block.

“I don’t think we have any specific stats to share on this, but it’s going well,” Zuckerberg said during Facebook’s latest earnings call in January. “I think we’re already one of the top dating services, and we expect to continue growing.”

If Facebook Dating is in fact among the top dating services, however, those dating services seem underwhelmed by the newcomer’s presence. Former Match Group CEO Mandy Ginsberg, who announced plans to step down last month, said the company hasn’t seen Facebook Dating impact any of its brands, which includes online dating giants Tinder, OkCupid and Match.com.

“We just haven’t seen it,” Ginsberg said on a recent earnings call.

“If you asked me two years ago, my fear would’ve been a large competitor moving into the space,” analyst Benjamin Black told Fortune about the competition for Match. “Who’s larger than Facebook? But yet it hasn’t affected user or subscriber trends.”

Meanwhile, Facebook Dating has also faced some recent roadblocks in Europe, where the platform’s launch was delayed following an investigation into Facebook’s data collection practices by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission.

“It’s really important that we get the launch of Facebook Dating right so we are taking a bit more time to make sure the product is ready for the European market,” the company said in a statement.

Ultimately, it seems the world has decided it needs Facebook dating even less than Elon Musk, Stephen King and literally everyone else needed Facebook to begin with.

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