WIRED - May 4 - Facebook's matchmaking service, simply called Dating, most closely resembles Hinge. The demo version touted on stage by CEO Mark Zuckerberg looks nearly identical to Hinge. It doesn't have a Tinder-like "hot or not" swiping feature. Instead, users scroll through detailed profiles and post answers to questions on their profiles, like whether they prefer dogs or cats. And in the biggest similarity, singles on both services can start conversations not by saying hello but by commenting on a specific profile item. Hinge and Facebook Dating also share the same ethos. Zuckerberg stressed that Dating focuses on finding meaningful relationships. Hinge advertises itself the same way. "When the Hinge team saw the similarity between our designs, we congratulated each other. It's gratifying to have one of the world's biggest technology companies enter the dating space and draw so much inspiration from Hinge," said Tim MacGougan, Hinge's VP of product. Like most popular dating apps, Hinge also largely relies on Facebook data to operate. "Since the announcement, our team has been in touch with Facebook about what our relationship will look like moving forward," says MacGougan.
by Louise Matsakis
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