Facebook is rolling out a new feature worldwide this week to help you connect with strangers. The tool, called Discover People, lets you see a list of people who are attending the same events as you, people who live in your town and people that work for the same company as you.

“Too often, it’s hard to learn more about people around you, whether it is upon starting a new job, joining a new group, deciding if you want to attend an event, or moving to a new place,” a Facebook spokesperson said. “To make it easier, we’re starting to roll out a new bookmark… that can help you discover more about people you have things in common with by browsing through profile cards of people in your community.”

If the feature is available to you, you can find it in the Facebook mobile app navigation with Friends, Events, Groups and the rest of the site’s normal tools. Once you click on it, Facebook takes you through your profile to update information, and then allows you to browse through the profiles of strangers in your area or event invite list.

This feature, though well-intentioned, feels a little creepy. If you mark yourself as going to a public event, tons of people would be able to see your profile and information. Facebook could even be testing the waters of dating apps with this move, letting users swipe through other users with a Tinder-like mechanism. However, it remains to be seen if people will accept Facebook trying to force connections like this.

Recommended Resources

BitDefender Traffic Light is a free cross-browser add-on that intercepts, processes and filters all Web traffic, blocking any malicious content and taking browser security to new levels.

Private Internet Access is an award-winning, cost-effective VPN solution. The use of an anonymous and trusted VPN is essential to your online privacy, security and identity protection.

System Mechanic 14 – Make your computer run like new. Winner of 200+ Editor’s Choice awards!