Facebook launches new 'Dating' service for its two billion users

Social media giant Facebook has announced the launch of a new service for singles.

The company announced today that Dating, its new matchmaking service, has launched in the US. Facebook flagged they'd introduce the feature more than a year ago, but had been slow to roll out the feature around the world.

Users can link their Facebook and Instagram posts and create a separate profile using the Dating feature, and can connect with Facebook's 2 billion users around the world.

"Facebook Dating allows you to match with friends of friends and/or people not in your friend circle," said a blog post from Nathan Sharp, head of the project.

One of the features, "Secret Crush," allows people who are friends to connect if they both secretly express an interest in each other, news.com.au reported.

"Facebook Dating won't match you with friends, unless you choose to use Secret Crush and you both add each other to your list," Mr Sharp said.

"We've been really slow, actually, with this rollout," Charmaine Hung, a product manager at Dating, told CNN Business. "We really wanted to make sure we got it right because dating is so personal."

Facebook has been slowly rolling out the feature across the world, and the release in the US marks the 20th country to be given access to the service.

The service is available for any Facebook mobile user who is over the age of 18.

Facebook Dating has already launched in 19 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Suriname, Thailand, Uruguay and Vietnam.

Facebook Dating is not yet available in New Zealand.

The move comes with Facebook battling to restore its reputation after a series of privacy blunders, including the hijacking of personal data on tens of millions of users ahead of the 2016 US election, and struggles to stem the flow of misinformation and manipulation.

Facebook's new service offers features that leverage the huge social network's user base while also promoting safety.