Facebook is testing a video speed dating app called Sparked. This application requires the establishment of an account on Facebook and is developed by the company’s NPE team, which is an internal Facebook group engaged in experimental applications.
You can check Sparked’s webpage here, which describes the app as “video dating with kind people.” It also promises that there are no public files, no screens, no DMs, and it is free to use. The app seems to loop people for fast video dating that lasts 4 minutes.
It’s unclear how many video appointments a person will have for each event, but the app says that if “you two are very happy”, the dater will then be scheduled for a second 10-minute date. After that, Sparked suggested that they could exchange contact information and keep in touch via Instagram, iMessage, or email.
The user registration process shows that kindness is an important theme of this app. When registering, users must type out what makes them a kind dater.
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The app says that these answers will be reviewed by Sparked’s human employees before people can engage in speed dating. Users have to choose whether they want to date a male, female, or non-binary person, and then are asked if they would like to date a transgender person.
What is unclear is how daters connect to this event, such as whether they will log in to Sparked via the Internet, or whether they will eventually be prompted to download an app. This app has not yet been launched in the App Store or Google Play.
Sparked will be Facebook’s second dating product. Facebook Dating is operated in the main Facebook application. It was launched in the United States in 2019 and has since been extended to various countries, including the most recent United Kingdom.
Its operation is similar to that of most dating apps. People can view the public profile of potential matches, send alike, and may receive a reply and start a conversation. The NPE team has launched many applications, but none of them have improved in particular, so it is not clear how much Facebook’s commitment to Sparked is.
(Via)
