Facebook Dating is a feature within the Facebook app that allows users to match and chat with potential romantic partners. It operates similarly to other dating apps like Tinder or Bumble, but is integrated directly into the Facebook experience.
While many users enjoy Facebook Dating, others may wish to cancel and delete their dating profile for various reasons. In this article, we will explore how easy or difficult it is to fully cancel Facebook Dating and remove your presence from the platform.
Activating Facebook Dating
Before exploring how to cancel Facebook Dating, it’s helpful to understand how users activate it in the first place. Here’s a quick overview:
- Facebook Dating can only be activated from within the Facebook mobile app on iOS or Android devices. It is not accessible from desktop.
- To get started, tap the menu icon in the top right corner of the Facebook app and select “Dating.”
- You will be prompted to build your dating profile by adding photos and answering questions about yourself and your ideal match.
- With your profile set up, you can start viewing potential matches and interacting with them if interested.
Once fully set up, your dating profile is live and viewable by others using the feature. You can toggle certain visibility settings on or off, but your profile remains active until manually canceled.
Canceling Facebook Dating
If you decide Facebook Dating isn’t for you, canceling it is relatively straightforward:
- Open the Facebook app and tap the menu icon in the top right corner.
- Select “Dating.”
- Tap the three line menu icon in the top left corner.
- Choose “Settings & Privacy.”
- Scroll down and tap on “Delete Profile.”
- Confirm that you want to delete your dating profile.
Once you complete these steps, your Facebook Dating profile will be immediately and permanently deleted. You will no longer appear as an active user to other people browsing matches.
However, there are a few important caveats:
- Deleting the profile does not prevent you from activating Facebook Dating again in the future.
- Any messages exchanged with matches will remain in your Facebook Messenger history.
- If you uploaded photos specifically for your dating profile, they will not be deleted.
So in summary – yes, Facebook Dating itself can be canceled quickly and definitively. But traces of your usage can remain visible unless manually removed.
Deleting Dating Profile Photos
Since photos uploaded for your dating profile remain on Facebook even after disabling the feature, you will need to manually remove them if desired. Here’s how:
- Go to your Facebook profile page and click “Photos.”
- Select the “Albums” tab.
- Locate the album titled “Facebook Dating Pictures.”
- Open the album and delete any photos you don’t want tied to your account.
This is the only way to fully remove any profile pictures that others could have seen while your dating profile was active. Keep in mind that untagging yourself from a photo will not remove it – you have to delete the photo from Facebook entirely.
Also note that any dating profile photos that you set as your Facebook profile picture at some point will remain on your page as a past profile photo unless manually removed.
Deleting Dating Messages
Messaging exchanges with your matches on Facebook Dating occur through Facebook Messenger. So even after disabling the dating feature, those conversations remain visible.
To delete dating messages:
- Open the Messenger app.
- Tap on your photo icon in the top left corner.
- Choose “Message Requests.”
- You will see past conversations with your dating matches.
- Tap and hold the convo you want to delete and choose “Delete Conversation.”
This will permanently erase the messages as if they never existed. Repeat for any other dating-related message threads you want completely removed.
One thing to note – if you simply delete the messages on your end rather than deleting the entire conversation, your match can still see the messages you sent. So be sure to select “Delete Conversation” when wiping dating chats.
Removing Yourself from Potential Matches
Simply deleting your Facebook Dating profile and messages does not remove you from the pool of potential matches other users see. Even without a profile, other people can still stumble upon and select you as a match unless you fully opt out.
To completely remove yourself from being seen as a potential match:
- Go to the menu icon in Facebook > Settings & Privacy > Settings.
- Select “Dating” under the “Preferences” heading.
- Toggle the option “Use Facebook Dating” to off/disabled.
With this setting disabled, you will no longer appear as a possible match for others to view or select. It’s an important final step to completely removing yourself from the dating feature.
Avoiding Accidental Reactivation
An important caveat is that Facebook may try to get you to reactivate dating by prompting you to “Finish Setting Up Your Profile.” To avoid this:
- When disabling the “Use Facebook Dating” setting, choose “Not Now” if prompted to complete your profile.
- On your News Feed, click the “X” icon on any prompts to finish setting up your dating profile.
Facebook will periodically show reminders to reactivate the feature you have turned off. Dismissing these prompts each time you see them will prevent your profile from being reactivated accidentally.
Does Disabled = Deleted?
It’s important to note that Facebook’s language leaves things unclear as to whether “disabling” Facebook Dating fully deletes your information from their servers.
In their data policy, they state:
When you delete your account, we delete things you have posted, such as your photos and status updates, and you won’t be able to recover that information later. Information that others have shared about you isn’t part of your account and won’t be deleted.
However, they don’t specifically state that disabling dating deletes your dating profile and messages in the same way that deleting your entire account would.
More likely, they keep disabled dating profiles stored on their servers but mark them as inactive. So while you can fully remove yourself from being visible to others, your dating profile information may still reside in Facebook systems.
This is one drawback of using a social media platform for dating purposes – reduced control over data deletion compared to standalone dating apps.
Conclusion
In summary:
- Canceling the core Facebook Dating service is quick and straightforward through the mobile app settings.
- You must also manually delete any photos and conversations associated with dating matches.
- Opting out of being seen as a potential match requires visiting an obscure settings page.
- Facebook may retain deactivated profile data on their servers rather than fully deleting it.
While not overly difficult, fully removing your presence requires following the steps precisely. Facebook does not make canceling dating very intuitive, likely to retain user engagement. But with vigilance, you can disable the features you no longer want.
Just know that traces may remain beyond your control unless you delete your Facebook account entirely – at which point you lose access to all Facebook services. It requires assessing your priorities and comfort level with their data policies.