Can You Use Facebook Dating Without a Facebook Account?

No. Facebook Dating isn't a stand-alone app or website. You start a Dating profile from inside the Facebook app, and Facebook's help page says you need a Facebook account in good standing that's at least 30 days old. It's free, but it only comes with a Facebook account.

Facebook's own Dating page says "Start a Dating profile within your Facebook app," and that everything you need for a separate Dating profile is already in the app. You don't start it anywhere else.

Facebook's help page adds that Dating is only available in the Facebook apps for Android and iPhone. You can't use it on a computer.

The "Who can use Facebook Dating" help page lists three requirements:

1. You're at least 18.
2. You have a Facebook account in good standing that's at least 30 days old.
3. You live in a country where Dating is available. The page lists them.

It also says access may be limited or denied if you're under 18, your account is new or inactive, or you've broken Facebook's Terms of Service, Community Standards or other policies.

A Dating profile is separate from your main profile, and Meta says it's opt-in. Facebook won't create one unless you choose to.

According to Meta's privacy post on Dating:

• Your first name and age come from your Facebook profile, and you can't edit them in Dating. Your last name isn't shown on your Dating profile.
• Facebook won't suggest your current Facebook friends as matches or tell them you've joined Dating.
• Your Dating profile, your Dating messages and who you like or match with won't appear in your Facebook News Feed.

So the account is the key to the door, but it's not the thing women see. They see the photos and answers you put in Dating.

You have to create one, then wait. The 30-day rule means a brand new account can't open Dating on day one. Use the account the way you normally would for a few weeks, and stay inside Facebook's rules so access isn't limited.

While you wait, get ready:

• Ask a friend to take three or four photos in daylight, in places you really go.
• Write answers with one specific detail in each, not a list of hobbies.
• Try another dating app so you aren't waiting on one.

You can delete your Dating profile whenever you want. Facebook's Dating terms say you may delete it "without penalty or obligation," from Facebook Dating Settings by choosing "Delete Profile." The help page notes that you then have to wait 7 days before creating a new one.

If you don't want a Facebook account at all, Facebook Dating isn't an option. Other dating apps have their own sign-up, so pick one of those instead.

Yes. Meta describes Facebook Dating as "a free dating experience within the Facebook app." The price you pay is your time.

a dating coach's rule for any dating app is to treat it as a test. Give it two weeks and count four numbers: women you liked, conversations that started, numbers you got and dates you set. If the numbers are good, keep going. If they are poor, a free price tag is not a reason to stay.

Write each first message about one real detail in her photos or answers, in two or three sentences, and end with a question she can answer easily. Skip "hey."

a dating coach's rule is to get a phone number within a handful of messages and to have a short call before a date. It keeps a good chat from dying in an inbox, and it works whichever dating app you used to meet her.

You can't use Facebook Dating without a Facebook account. You need one in good standing that's at least 30 days old, you need to be 18 or older, you need to live in a supported country, and you need the Android or iPhone app. It costs nothing. If you don't have an account, make one, give it time, and use another dating app in the meantime.