Facebook To Launch Tinder Style Meetup Feature

Facebook reportedly has plans to launch a new Tinder-style “meetup” feature.

Motherboard reports that social media giant Facebook has plans to roll out a new “meetup” feature that would allow Facebook users to privately select if they’re available to meet up with another user. Facebook was previously criticized for seemingly copying Snapchat’s “stories” feature in the Facebook Messenger application, but now the social media company has now set its sights on Tinder’s “swiping” and “matches” features as Facebook attempts to become a one-stop-shop for all social media needs.

Motherboard reporter Jason Dubé got a chance to try out the new Facebook feature, reportedly receiving the following notification on his messenger app on Wednesday, “[Name redacted] and 15 others may want to meet up with you this week.” Dubé clicked the notification which brought him to a page featuring photos of people from his friends list with the words, “Want to meet up with [name redacted] this week?” appearing above them. The app said that Dubé’s response would be kept private unless he and the friend both indicated that they wanted to meetup, otherwise he could click “No Thanks,” and nothing else would happen.

A Facebook spokesperson discussed the new feature with Motherboard stating, “People often use Facebook to make plans with their friends. So, we’re running a very small test in the Facebook app to make that easier. We look forward to hearing people’s feedback.” The new feature is currently only available to a small number of users based in certain parts of Toronto, Canada and in areas of New Zealand but will be available on both iOS and Android operating systems.

Unlike Tinder which is based solely around creating new romantic relationships, Facebook’s new feature doesn’t just show possible love interests, it also shows platonic friends that may just want to grab coffee or a beer, encouraging Facebook users to be more sociable. It seems that the new feature may be used to convince Facebook friends that rarely interact in person to get out in the real world and meet each other, but whether the new feature will be a success is yet to be seen.