Facebook Testing Tinder-Like Matching Feature

facebook-privacyFacebook is often accused of intruding too much into users’ lives. Those concerns won’t be eased this week with news that Facebook is testing a “match” feature on Messenger that looks an awful lot like the dating app Tinder.

According to a reporter for Vice’s Motherboard, the Messenger app showed him a notification that said “[Friend’s name] and 15 others may want to meet up this week.” When he clicked on it, he saw photos of his friends with the question “Want to meet up with [friend’s name] this week?” According to Facebook, if both you and a friend answer “yes” to this question, Messenger will open up a chat between you.

“People often use Facebook to make plans with their friends,” a Facebook spokesperson told Motherboard. “So, we’re running a very small test in the Facebook app to make that easier. We look forward to hearing people’s feedback.”

Of course, as many people have pointed out, this tool (currently in beta) functions a lot like a dating app. So does Facebook want to hook you up with your friends? The site says no, but it’s hard not to reach that conclusion. However, the tool also suggests friends you chat with regularly, so maybe it really does just want you to see your pals in real life. No matter what the new feature is for, it’s creepy that Facebook is trying to set you up offline.