Who remembers when Facebook was just a social media platform where old friends could catch up with one and other?
Although this was still the case up until around ten years ago, in recent years the platform has started to branch out, offering its users the ability to buy and sell items via their marketplace and incorporating an online dating element to its service.
For users of Facebook dating, or those who are looking to get involved with it, it can be a cause of great confusion when the ‘Facebook dating’ option isn’t there to select.
In this article, we are going to look at the possible causes for this and potential ways to make it show up again. Let’s get into it.
Facebook dating not showing up – The most likely cause
The most likely cause for Facebook dating not showing up for you is due to a few key requirements that your account must meet in order to gain access to the service.
First of all, you must be located in one of the countries where Facebook dating is currently available. It has yet to launch worldwide therefore there are some nations where the service will be geographically blocked.
Secondly, you must be verified as being over the age of 18 in order to gain access to the service.
If you try to change your date of birth to force your way in to Facebook’s dating scene then you will need to verify that this is your correct date of birth. In other words, you aren’t getting in unless you actually are an adult.
Finally, your account must be over 30 days old to use the dating part of Facebook. This is basically to prevent people from creating numerous different accounts just to spam the dating section with new profiles.
Read More: Facebook app won’t open? – Here’s why
Since the likes of Tinder and Hinge have moved the online dating game on to mobile phone apps, it’s quite a smart play by Facebook to join the party.
Although it hasn’t yet reached heights of the aforementioned apps, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.
If your account ticks all of the above boxes, then there must be something else causing Facebook dating to not appear on your account. Let’s take a look at some possible explanations,
Incorrect Facebook settings
It may well be that your accounts privacy and security settings aren’t set in a way that allows your account access to Facebook dating.
If this is the case then you simply won’t see Facebook dating as an option on your Facebook menu.
To check to see if your settings are wrong, and to potentially change them so they’re right, please follow these instructions:
- Log on to your Facebook account via the mobile phone app.
- Select the three lined icon on the bottom right hand side of the screen and select ‘settings and privacy’ followed by ‘settings’.
- Scroll down to ‘permissions’ and select ‘location’.
- Ensure that either ‘always’ or ‘while using’ are selected.
Once you’ve done this, close the Facebook app down, reload it and then follow these steps to locate Facebook Dating:
- Log on to your account.
- Select the three lined icon on the bottom right hand side of the screen and locate ‘dating’ via the shortcuts subheading.
- Follow the on screen instructions to get your dating profile set up.
This will usually fix Facebook dating not working when using the app. Though, there are potentially some other reasons why the Facebook dating app isn’t appearing.
Updates
Facebook is constantly updating, and with their dating section in its infancy, it is gaining a lot of attention from their developers.
As a result, it is absolutely vital that you ensure the Facebook app is up to date at all times. If you are running the app on an out of date version, then dating may well not be showing up.
To check to see if any app updates are available on an iOS device, please follow these steps:
- Load up the App Store.
- Select your profile icon from the top right hand side of the screen.
- Scroll through this page until you land on the section for pending app updates.
- If you see Facebook on this list then select ‘update’ next to its name. If you don’t see Facebook on this list then it means you are using the latest version.
If you want to rule updates out from ever causing you issues when it comes to Facebook, or any other app for that matter, then you can set them all update automatically whenever a new version drops.
To do this on an iOS device, please follow these steps:
- Go to the settings app.
- Select ‘app store.
- Underneath the ‘automatic downloads’ heading, ensure that the toggle next to ‘app updates’ is triggered so that it is displaying as green.
An outdated version of the app is a common reason why Facebook dating may not be appearing when you turn on your phone.
Unstable internet connection
If you don’t have a solid wifi connection on your device, you’re not going to be able to connect to Facebook dating on your device. Like regular Facebook, the dating service requires an internet connection to work properly.
Once you’ve connected to the internet – either via Wi-Fi or your device mobile data – you’ll then be able to connect to the Facebook dating server.
Conclusion
To conclude, Facebook dating not showing up is a frustrating glitch that unfortunately doesn’t have a universal cause and/or solution.
Providing that you are over 18 and live in a country where Facebook dating has been launched, though, you should be able to fix the issue by following the instructions outlined within this article. Good luck!
