Facebook starts testing its dating project internally with employees

Facebook had announced the dating product during its F8 developer conference in the US in May. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the product is going to be for building real, long-term relationships and not just for hookups.

A Facebook sign is seen during the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference (ChinaJoy) in Shanghai. (REUTERS)

In a bid to take on mobile dating apps like Tinder and Bumble, Facebook has begun testing its dating project internally with employees.

According to a report in The Verge on Friday, an independent app researcher Jane Manchun Wong found evidence of the dating feature testing and posted it on Twitter.

"This product is for US Facebook employees who have opted-in to dogfooding Facebook's new dating product.

"The purpose for this dogfooding is to test the end-to-end product experience for bugs and confusing UI (user interface). This is not meant for dating your co-workers," read a screenshot.

Facebook is internally testing Facebook Dating.

I can't go past the signup screen because they are not activating all non-employee Dating profiles because, well, it's "pre-launch" ;) pic.twitter.com/VQFHUJIkuX

— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) August 3, 2018

"Dogfooding this product is completely voluntary and has no impact on your employment," the screenshot further read, adding that the product is confidential.

The social media giant later confirmed the dating product is in testing within the main Facebook app but declined to comment further.

Facebook had announced the dating product -- which will not be a standalone dating app -- during its F8 developer conference in the US in May.

"This is going to be for building real, long-term relationships and not just for hookups," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during his keynote.

"We have designed this with privacy and safety in mind from the beginning. Your friends aren't going to see your profile, and you're only going to be suggested to people who are not your friends," he added.

Facebook Product Chief Chris Cox showed a design of the dating project to the audience.

A feature called "unlocking" will let any user of Facebook's dating platform make his or her profile visible to other attendees of events or members of groups.