You can now find out which Facebook friends fancy you. This is thanks to a new Facebook Dating feature called “Secret Crush”. And as the name suggests, it plays on the fact that people often fancy other people from afar, but never actually say anything.

A Brief Introduction to Facebook Dating

Facebook announced Facebook Dating at F8 2018. Once you have opted in, you can browse Groups and Events for potential dates. Once you find someone you’re interested in, you can send them a text message. If they reciprocate, you can then take things further.

Facebook reminded me today that I’m single ????? #FacebookDating #Facebook pic.twitter.com/WIbyLDxpj7

— ? (@inahsoniega) May 1, 2019

Facebook Dating has been available for a while in Colombia, Thailand, Canada, Argentina, and Mexico. It’s now also available in the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guyana, and Suriname.

Secret Crush Matches You With Your Friends

Now that Facebook Dating is established, Facebook is ready to take things up a notch. So, at F8 2019, Facebook unveiled “Secret Crush”. This is a Facebook Dating feature designed to match you with your actual Facebook Friends. Which is both clever and creepy.

Facebook Dating has a lot in common with Hinge, the dating app for people who hate dating apps. Secret Crush adds a Tinder element to proceedings, because, like Tinder, people need to express a mutual attraction for each other before being matched.

Once you have opted in to using Secret Crush, you can select up to nine friends who you secretly fancy. If any of those friends is also on Facebook Dating they’ll get a notification saying that someone has a crush on them.

You can add any of your Facebook friends, but unless they’re also on Facebook Dating, have created a Secret Crush list, and put you on their list, they’ll never know you’re crushing on them. However, if you both add each other to your lists, it’s a match.

Helping Facebook Friends Hook Up Since 2019

Facebook Dating is a fantastic idea, as it makes use of Facebook’s vast userbase to help strangers get together. However, Secret Crush is designed to help friends get together, and that’s a riskier maneuver. Especially if the new relationship goes wrong.

While Facebook Dating still isn’t available in the US, Facebook has stated that it will arrive by the end of 2019. However, if you don’t want to wait that long for a potential relationship you could always check out these free alternative dating apps.

Read the full article: Facebook Dating Now Has a “Secret Crush” Feature