Facebook is continuing to spread its Stories product, now bringing the ephemeral format to Facebook Dating users. Daters can re-share their Instagram or Facebook Stories on the dating platform, both to current matches and prospective ones. They won’t be able to capture content in Facebook Dating, which is important to note, although they can choose what Stories content to share from within the dating platform and also cross-post from within Facebook or Instagram.
Bringing Stories to the app is designed to give people more insight into their matches while also proving they’re real people, says Charmaine Hung, lead product manager on Stories for Facebook Dating.
The feature looks exactly like Stories on Instagram or Facebook. There’s a carousel of circular profile photos at the top of Dating that can be tapped into for content. The key difference is that prospective matches can send a like to someone while watching their story, and the poster can choose to then match with them. If they’re already matched, a person can reply or react to the story. Every bit of story content has to be individually chosen, so a user can’t just opt to share their entire story from the day in one tap. They have to select each one, which Facebook decided to do because of privacy concerns.
Daters across platforms often choose to link their Instagram profiles to their dating profiles to show people more about themselves, and yes, prove they’re real people. Having the option to include Stories content on the dating platform would be helpful, although I’m not sure how many people would be comfortable sharing that sort of content with complete strangers.
Part of the reason people like posting to Stories is because it feels inconsequential; if they knew a prospective date was watching, they might alter what they post. At the same time, I wonder what incentive people have to connect to matches outside of Facebook Dating now that they can share their Instagram and Facebook Stories content within the dating product. Facebook is essentially building a microcosm of Instagram and Facebook but only for single people. Why would they want to leave?