How Facebook Dating Conversations Differ From Other Dating Apps

Like all your other tried and true dating apps, Facebook Dating — which launched September 2109 — allows you to message people you're interested in and ultimately decide whether you'd like to go on a virtual date, or meet up in person. But what if you step away for a while? Do the conversations on Facebook Dating expire, or can you come back to them later on?

As Facebook explained to Bustle, Facebook Dating is connected to your Facebook profile, but it's a separate service that you can choose to opt into (or not). Basically, you reach out to others by commenting on an a few provided icebreaker question, or you can comment on one of their photos. If the person responds, a message thread appears in the conversations part of the application, where you can then continue to message each other back and forth.

It also works the same way in reverse — if someone sends you an initial message and you respond, your message chain will then show up in the conversations section, too. Keep in mind, though, that Facebook Dating users can only send one initial message to another user. If the other person doesn't respond to this message, no conversation thread is created — so make sure you put some thought into what you say!

Long story short, your conversations don't expire on the dating app, meaning you can come back to them whenever you'd like. But other components do, should you choose to include them. For example, Facebook Dating users can incorporate Instagram and Facebook stories into their profiles, too. However, these stories will expire in 24 hours, just like they do on the non-dating versions of these apps.

So, are you interested in creating a Facebook Dating profile, after learning more about it? If you're currently shaking your head "yes," making one is a pretty straightforward process. As CNBC reported, all you need to do is click the heart icon on your Facebook profile to get started. Then, simply can go ahead and set it up.

Facebook did note that only your name and age will be automatically included on this profile. Otherwise, you can decide exactly what else you want to include, like photographs, personal information, and more. If you're worried about your privacy slipping through your fingers, Facebook assures users the dating profile will always be kept separate from your regular Facebook profile — and your Facebook friends won't be able to see any of your Facebook Dating activity. Phew!

Over the past year, Facebook users have had the opportunity to expand their online dating game, and since messages don't expire, they've also been able to keep their conversations going — for as long as they'd like.