Meta shut down its long-tested video dating service last year. The company formerly known as Facebook informed users of the service via email recently.
Last April, Meta confirmed it was testing a new dating service called Sparked. Citing the Tech Crunch page, Monday (17/1/2022), the company notified users who got tested via email that the service would officially close on January 20, 2022.
“We started building Sparked in late 2020 to help people find love through experiences rooted in kindness. Since then, thanks to your regular feedback and feedback, we’ve improved where we can, learned a lot, and made connections between people,” the email reads.
“Like many great ideas, some take off and others, like Sparked, have to end,” the email reads.
Unlike other dating apps, where users swipe through profiles to generate matches, Sparked is a video-based speed dating service.
Sparked itself is not really a complete Facebook product, but the result of the New Product Experimentation (NPE) division.
The team has tested the service in select markets, including Chicago, and has also hosted several global date nights throughout the year.
As the name suggests, this division aims to test product ideas before deciding whether these products need to be officially released.
Meta, at the time, described Sparked as a small test, external beta designed to generate insight into how video dating could work.