If your thumbs have gone sore swiping right on Tinder without any success, here’s some good news. Facebook has rolled out a new feature called ‘Discover Friends’ for its Android and iOS apps. It tries to connect you with people who aren’t on your ‘Friends’ list, aren’t necessarily friends of your friends, and are either working at the same organisation as you do, study at the same college, or are interested in the same event as you are.
The feature requires a user to update their profile before they start looking at the list of upcoming events, where it will then try to connect you with people from the same city or organisation as yours, and who are also attending the event which you are. The feature has apparently started rolling out for users on Android and iOS, but hasn’t been carpet bombed for all users yet.
The ‘Discover Friends’ option is listed in the navigation section, where one also finds options such as Events, Nearby Places, groups, etc. In the Discover People section, users are shown a list of events for which they’ve shown interest, been invited, or plan to attend. There, they are also shown a list of events with the Event name and information about people who are attending it. None of the sections will show you the profiles of those who are already your friends. Further stressing that the feature is intended to find new friends on the social platform. Worried about your privacy? Facebook has confirmed that the profiles will only show public information in the Discover People section.
Talking to TechCrunch, a Facebook spokesperson said, “Too often, it’s hard to learn more about people around you, whether it is upon starting a new job, joining a new group, deciding if you want to attend an event, or moving to a new place. To make it easier, we’re starting to roll out a new bookmark in the More menu called ‘Discover People’ that can help you discover more about people you have things in common with by browsing through profile cards of people in your community.“
Source: TechCrunch
