Facebook Launches Video-Based Speed Dating App

Leading social network Facebook is now testing a video speed-dating app called Sparked.

Sparked connects strangers so they can get to know each other through video calls. They will have 4 minutes to talk and see if the power is on. If both participants want to go further, they can indicate this after the video call and will then be rescheduled for a new 10-minute video interview this time around. After that point, Sparked can let the users exchange contact information and stay in touch via Instagram, iMessage, or email. Sparked is developed by the company's in-house NPE (New Product Experimentation) team.

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If it launches, Sparked could be Facebook’s second dating app, after Dating launched in the US in 2019. The NPE team has been testing a lot of apps recently but none of them has taken off yet.

The free-to-use app will offer no public profiles, no swiping, and no direct messages (DMs) but a simple video speed-chat. During the sign-up process, users need to explain what makes them a kind dater.

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The responses will be "reviewed by a human at Sparked" before you can go on speed dates. "Users also have to choose whether they want to date men, women, or nonbinary people, and then are asked if they are open to dating trans people," according to the team.

It’s still unclear when or if Facebook will launch the app. As for now, it’s still being developed and tested.