Look out, Tinder! Facebook has announced plans to launch a dating service

Well, OK then.

Facebook are launching a new dating service to help their users find love. The aim of the service, according to the social media platform's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, is to create "real, long-term relationships." It will be an opt-in feature that enables users to create a dating profile, which would be separate from their own Facebook account. Wired report that, to make sure both profiles on the social media platform are kept separate, the dating profile would only user your first name. Users will be matched with potential dates based on their preferences, things in common and mutual friends - as well as in the Groups and Events area of the site. And unlike just about every other dating app out there, the Facebook platform would have a dedicated inbox that won't allow you to send photos or linked - meaning you can only send text-based messages while chatting for the first time. According to Buzzfeed, Zuckerberg said that more than 200 million people on Facebook are currently listing themselves as 'single' - which, to them, means "clearly there’s something to do here." The dating service would only suggest potential matches that users were not already friends with, and none of a user's existing friends would be able to see any of their dating activity. Speaking at the platform's F8 conference, he continued:

“This is going to be for building real long-term relationships, not just hookups."