Facebook’s new dating feature may not be a good idea

Facebook recently launched its dating feature called “Secret Crush” which will give users a chance to match with people from their friends list.

Fast Company‘s Mark Sullivan said at the Facebook F8 developer conference, that the announcement didn’t go down well with some quarters perhaps from people who wished that Facebook would instead prioritise the many pressing issues facing the company.

Secret Crush allows Facebook users to pick up to nine of their friends over whom they’ve been secretly pining away, according to Sullivan. If two people select each other, Facebook Dating will unveil them as a match.

Otherwise, Facebook keeps people’s crushes under wraps — or, at least, as well as any company that recently leaked hundreds of millions of passwords possibly could.

The new service sounds a bit creepy: it means that Facebook learns even more private information about its users that could be potentially embarrassing if leaked or stolen, as Facebook data so often is.

This is perhaps the reason for the lack of enthusiasm from several quarters.