Facebook has begun testing a new speed-dating application named Sparked. The application will require a profile on Facebook to make an account. The app is developed by the NPE team, the company’s in-house team dedicated to experimental apps.
What’s New In Sparked?
There is an official website for Sparked up already. On the site, the app is described as a platform that will allow dating “kind people” over video. The app also claims that it will be completely free of cost and will not include any DMs, swiping, or public profiles.
The platform will apparently make people cycle through four-minute-long video dates. For now, it is unknown as to how many dates an individual can go on in the duration of a single event. However, the app does state that if both of the daters have an enjoyable time, then the platform offers a second date for them which will last a longer 10 minutes.
Depending on how that one goes, Sparked suggests that daters can decide to share their personal contact information. After that, they can continue their contact over email, iMessage, or Instagram.
For now, signing up will direct one to a waitlist. However, the flow of signing up of users suggests that the app lays a lot of focus on its key theme of kindness. To sign up, users have to describe the traits in them that would suggest that they are kind daters. The app then states that these answers will be human-reviewed later on to judge whether they are eligible for the video dates.
Users are also required to choose their gender preference when it comes to dating. The list includes men, women, non-binary, as well as whether transgender matches are viable options for the user.
For now, it is Facebook’s second product for dating, the first one being Dating, launched in 2019 in the US. However, a spokesperson has confirmed that it is still in the very early stages of experimentation.
